1277 


Issued  August  29,  1910. 


U.  S.  DEPARTMENT  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

FARMERS’  BULLETIN  412. 


Experiment  Station  Work, 

LVIII. 


Compiled  from  the  Publications  of  the  Agricultural  Experiment  Stations. 


FERTILIZERS  FOR  PINEAPPLES. 

WART  DISEASE  OF  THE  POTATO. 

THE  TYPHOID  OR  HOUSE  FLY. 

RICE  AND  ITS  BY-PRODUCTS  AS  FEED¬ 
ING  STUFFS. 


THE  FORCED  MOLTING  OF  FOWLS. 

A  PORTABLE  PANEL  FENCE. 
PASTEURIZATION  IN  BUTTER  MAKING. 
MILLING  AND  BAKING  TESTS  WITH 
DURUM  WHEAT. 


MAY,  1910. 


PREPARED  IN  THE  OFFICE  OF  EXPERIMENT  STATIONS. 

A.  C.  TRUE,  Director. 


WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT  PRINTING  OFFICE 

1910. 


THE  AGRICULTURAL  ] 

Alabama — 

College  Station :  Auburn;  J.  F. 
Duggar.® 

Canebrake  Station  :  Uniontown;  F. 
D.  Stevens.® 

Tnskegee  Station  :  Tuskegee  Insti¬ 
tute;  G.  W.  Carver.® 

Alaska — Sitka:  C.  C.  Georgeson.6 
Arizona — Tucson:  It.  H.  Forbes.® 
Arkansas — Fayetteville:  C.F.  Adams.® 

California — Berkeley:  E.  J.  Wickson.® 

Colorado — Fort  Collins:  C.  P.  Gillette.® 
Connecticut — 

State  Station:  New  Haven;  E.  H. 
Jenkins.® 

Storrs  Station:  Storrs ;  L.  A.  Clin¬ 
ton.® 

Delaware — Newark:  Harry  Hayward.® 

Florida — Gainesville :  P.  H.  Rolfs.® 
Georgia — Experiment:  Martin  V.  Cal¬ 
vin.® 

Guam — Island  of  Guam:  J.  B.  Thomp¬ 
son.6 

Hawaii — 

Federal  Station  :  Honolulu;  E.  V. 
Wilcox.6 

Sugar  Planters’  Station :  Hono¬ 
lulu;  C.  F.  Eckart.® 

Idaho — Moscow:  W.  L.  Carlyle.® 
Illinois — Urbana:  E.  Davenport.® 
Indiana — Lafayette:  A.  Goss.® 

Iowa — Ames:  C.  F.  Curtiss.® 

Kansas — Manhattan:  E.  H.  Webster.® 
Kentucky — Lexington:  M.  A.  Scovell.® 
Louisiana — 

State  Station:  Baton  Rouge. 

Sugar  Station  :  Audubon  Park,  New 
Orleans. 

North  Louisiana  Station  :  Calhoun. 
Rice  Experiment  Station :  Crow¬ 
ley ;  W.  R.  Dodson  ( Baton 
Rouge): ® 

Maine — Orono:  C.  D.  Woods.® 
Maryland — College  Park:  H.  J.  Pat¬ 
terson.® 

Massachusetts  —  Amherst:  W.  P. 
Brooks.® 

Michigan — East  Lansing:  R.  S.  Shaw.® 
Minnesota  —  University  Farm,  St. 
Paul:  A.  F.  Woods.® 

Mississippi — Agricultural  College:  J. 
W.  Fox.® 

°  Director.  b  Special  agent 


LPERIMENT  STATIONS. 

Missouri — 

College  Station:  Columbia;  F.  B. 
Mum  ford.® 

Fruit  Station :  Mountain  Grove; 
P.  Evans.® 

Montana — Bozeman:  F.  B.  Linfleld.® 
Nebraska — Lincoln:  E.  A.  Burnett.® 
Nevada — Reno:  J.  E.  Stubbs.® 

New  Hampshire — Durham:  J.  C.  Ken¬ 
dall.® 

New  Jersey — New  Brunswick:’  E.  B. 
Voorhees.® 

New  Mexico — Agricultural  College:  L. 

Foster.® 

New  York — 

State  Station:  Geneva;  W.  H.  Jor¬ 
dan.® 

Cornell  Station:  Ithaca;  H.  J. 
Webber.® 

North  Carolina — 

College  Station:  West  Raleigh;  C. 
B.  Williams.® 

State  Station:  Raleigh;  B.  W.  Kil¬ 
gore.® 

North  Dakota — Agricultural  College: 
J.  H.  Worst.® 

Ohio — Wooster:  C.  E.  Thorne.® 
Oklahoma — Stillwater:  B.  C.  Pittuck.® 
Oregon — Corvallis:  J.  Withycombe.® 
Pennsylvania — 

State  College:  T.  F.  Hunt.® 

State  College:  Institute  of  Animal 
Nutrition ;  H.  P.  Armsby.® 

Porto  Rico — Mayaguez:  D.  W.  May.6 
Rhode  Island  —  Kingston:  LI.  J. 
Wheeler.® 

South  Carolina — Clemson  College:  J. 
N.  Harper.® 

South  Dakota — Brookings:  J.  W.  Wil¬ 
son.® 

Tennessee — Knoxville:  H.  A.  Morgan.® 
Texas — College  Station:  H.  H.  Har¬ 
rington.® 

Utah — Logan:  E.  D.  Ball.® 

Vermont — Burlington:  J.  L.  Hills.® 
Virginia — 

Blacksburg :  S.  W.  Fletcher.® 
Norfolk:  Truck  Station;  T.  C. 
Johnson.® 

Washington  —  P  u  1 1  m  a  n  :  R.  W. 
Thatcher.® 

West  Virginia — Morgantown:  J.  H. 
Stewart.® 

Wisconsin — Madison:  H.  L.  Russell.® 
Wyoming — Laramie:  H.  G.  Knight.® 
l  charge.  cActing  director. 


412 


EXPERIMENT  STATION  WORK 


Edited  by  W.  H.  Beal  and  the  Staff  of  the  Experiment  Station  Record. 


Experiment  Station  Work  is  a  subseries  of  brief  popular  bulletins  compiled 
from  the  published  reports  of  the  agricultural  experiment  stations  and  kindred 
institutions  in  this  and  other  countries.  The  chief  object  of  these  publications 
is  to  disseminate  throughout  the  country  information  regarding  experiments  at 
the  different  experiment  stations,  and  thus  to  acquaint  farmers  in  a  general  way 
with  the  progress  of  agricultural  investigation  on  its  practical  side.  The  results 
herein  reported  should  for  the  most  part  be  regarded  as  tentative  and  suggestive 
rather  than  conclusive.  Further  experiments  may  modify  them,  and  experience 
alone  can  show  how  far  they  will  be  useful  in  actual  practice.  The  work  of  the 
stations  must  not  be  depended  upon  to  produce  “  rules  for  farming.”  How  to 
apply  the  results  of  experiments  to  his  own  conditions  will  ever  remain  the 
problem  of  the  individual  farmer. — A.  C.  True,  Director,  Office  of  Experiment 
Stations. 


CONTENTS  OF  NO.  LVIII. 


Page. 

Fertilizers  for  pineapples .  5 

Wart  disease  of  the  potato .  7 

The  typhoid  or  house  fly .  11 

Rice  and  its  by-products  as  feeding  stuffs .  16 

The  forced  molting  of  fowls . . .  20 

A  portable  panel  fence .  26 

Pasteurization  in  butter  making .  28 

Milling  and  baking  tests  with  durum  wheat .  29 

412 


3 


* 

ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Page. 

Fig.  1.  A  potato  tuber  showing  eyes  attacked  by  wart  disease .  8 

2.  Potato  tuber  half  covered  by  excrescences  caused  by  wart  disease _  9 

3.  Potato  plant  attacked  by  wart  disease .  9 

4.  Closed  receptacle  for  refuse  to  prevent  breeding  of  flies .  15 

5.  Details  of  construction  of  portable  panel  fence .  27 

6.  Hinged  panel  of  portable  fence .  28 


412 

4 


EXPERIMENT  STATION  WORK. 


FERTILIZERS  FOR  PINEAPPLES.” 

For  a  number  of  years  the  Florida  Experiment  Station  has  been 
actively  engaged  in  determining  what  fertilizer  combinations  will 
develop  the  best  yield,  quality,  and  shipping  properties  in  pineapples. 
The  experiments  have  been  carried  on  with  pineapples  grown  under 
sheds,  which  is  the  usual  method  of  culture  in  the  older  pineapple 
sections.  The  initial  work  along  this  line  conducted  during  the 
winter  of  1897-8  c  was  reported  by  P.  H.  Rolfs  in  1899,  and  his 
results  were  later  embodied  in  a  Farmers’  Bulletin  of  this  Depart¬ 
ments  A  more  extended  series  of  experiments  was  started  ‘in  1901 
in  which  some  ninety-six  variations  and  combinations  of  the  ferti¬ 
lizers  commonly  used  for  pineapples  were  tested,  the  quantity  applied 
per  acre  ranging  from  2,250  pounds  to  4,500  pounds. 

H.  K.  Miller  and  A.  W.  Blair  reporting  on  the  effects  of  these 
different  fertilizers  for  the  first  three  seasons  found  that  acid  phos¬ 
phate  had  an  injurious  effect  upon  pineapples,  which  could  be  cor¬ 
rected  by  the  use  of  lime.  They  attributed  the  injury  to  the  sulphate 
of  iron  and  aluminum  which  the  acid  phosphate  contained,  since 
phosphoric  acid  derived  from  boneblack  did  not  have  any  injurious 
effect  on  the  plants.  Growers  were  recommended  as  a  general  rule 
to  rely  upon  bone  meal  or  slag  as  sources  of  phosphoric  acid. 

If  acid  phosphate  is  used  lime  should  be  added  every  year  or  two,  at  the  rate 
of  about  750  pounds  to  the  acre.  *  *  * 

As  sources  of  nitrogen,  dried  blood,  cotton-seed  meal,  and  castor  pomace  may 
be  used.  Nitrate  of  soda  may  be  used  for  the  first  six  months  and  possibly, 
to  a  limited  extent,  for  the  first  year,  but  after  the  first  year  it  will  probably 
be  safer  to  eliminate  it  entirely.  Considerable  caution  is  required  in  its 
use,  *  *  *  [for]  nitrate  of  soda  when  used  in  sufficient  quantity  to  furnish 

a  A  progress  record  of  experimental  inquiries,  published  without  assumption  of 
responsibility  by  the  Department  for  the  correctness  of  the  facts  and  conclusions 
reported  by  the  stations. 

b  Compiled  from  Florida  Sta.  Buis.  83,  101. 
c  Florida  Sta.  Bui.  50. 
d  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Farmers’  Bui.  140. 

412 


5 


6 


EXPERIMENT  STATION  WORK,  LVIII. 


all  tlie  nitrogen  proves  injurious  both  to  the  plants  and  to  the  shipping  qualities 
of  the  fruit.  *  *  * 

Of  the  potash  salts  used,  high  and  low  grade  sulphate  have  given  the  best 
results,  the  latter  seeming  slightly  the  better.  Muriate  has  given  fair  results, 
though  the  sulphate  undoubtedly  gives  better  results.  Kainit  should  not  be 
used.  High  grade  tobacco  stems,  though  not  used  in  this  experiment,  have  been 
used  by  a  number  of  growers  with  good  results. 

On  the  whole  the  best  results  were  obtained  by  the  use  of  about 
3,750  pounds  per  acre  of  a  fertilizer,  analyzing  4  per  cent  available 
phosphoric  acid,  5  per  cent  nitrogen,  and  10  per  cent  potash.  By 
increasing  the  fertilizer  from  a  little  more  than  a  ton  to  nearly  2 
tons  per  acre,  the  number  of  larger  sizes  of  pineapples  was  increased 
to  a  very  profitable  extent.  There  appeared  to  be  no  advantage  in 
using  more  than  2  tons  per  acre. 

The  bulk  of  Florida  pines  are  grown  along  the  east  coast.  Relative 
to  the  use  of  fertilizers  in  this  section  the  above  writers  say : 

For  most  of  the  east  coast  soils  we  would  recommend  3,500  to  4,000  pounds 
to  the  acre  annually  of  a  fertilizer  analyzing  4  per  cent  available  phosphoric 
acid,  5  per  cent  nitrogen,  and  10  per  cent  potash,  to  be  applied  at  the  rate  of 
four  applications  a  year  for  the  first  eighteen  months,  and  after  this  two 
applications  a  year ;  one  in  February  or  March,  as  the  conditions  may  require, 
and  one  soon  after  the  removal  of  the  summer  crop.  However,  some  very 
successful  growers  recommend  three  applications  a  year,  as  follows :  About 
1,400  pounds  of  a  standard  fertilizer  in  February  and  again  after  the  removal 
of  the  summer  crop,  and  1,000  to  1,200  pounds  high-grade  tobacco  stems  in 
the  fall  or  early  winter.  A  regular  application  of  a  growing  fertilizer  at  the 
beginning  of  winter  has  been  found  objectionable,  in  that  plants,  if  started  to 
growing  rapidly,  are  much  more  susceptible  to  injury  by  the  cold  weather  which 
may  come  in  January  or  February.  This  was  clearly  demonstrated  by  the 
freeze  in  1905.  Those  who  fertilized  heavily  in  the  late  fall  suffered  more  than 
those  who  did  not  fertilize  at  this  time  or  who  used  only  ground  tobacco 
stems.  The  tobacco  does  not  cause  much  growth,  but  makes  the  plants  hardy, 
and  thus  better  able  to  stand  the  cold. 

Within  three  weeks,  or  as  soon  as  possible  after  setting  out,  the  plants 
should  have  a  light  application  of  cotton-seed  meal  in  the  bud,  about  a  table¬ 
spoonful  to  the  plant.  The  first  regular  application  should  be  put  on  broadcast 
about  six  weeks  later,  and  be  thoroughly  worked  in  with  the  scuffle  hoe.  For 
this  application,  some  growers  have  used  castor  pomace  or  cotton-seed  meal, 
and  high-grade  tobacco  stems,  with  good  results. 

The  Florida  experiments  were  continued  for  the  purpose  of  finding 
out  whether  the  quality  of  pineapples  is  affected  by  the  kind  or 
quantity  of  the  fertilizer  used,  chemical  analyses  being  made  of  fruits 
from  the  various  plats  during  the  four  seasons. 

This  work  as  reported  by  A.  W.  Blair  and  R.  N.  Wilson  in  a 
recent  bulletin  of  the  Florida  Station  shows  that  the  eating  quality 
of  the  fruit  when  gauged  by  the  sugar  and  acid  content  of  the  juice 
does  not  appear  to  be  influenced  by  the  kind  of  fertilizer  used.  In¬ 
creasing  the  amount  of  fertilizer  per  acre  slightly  increased  the  sugar 

412 


EXPERIMENT  STATION  WORK,  LVIII. 


7 


content  and  very  slightly  decreased  the  acid  in  the  fruit.  The  work 
did  not  show,  however,  to  which  particular  fertilizer  constituent 
these  changes  are  due. 

Although  the  average  weight  of  the  fruit  varies  from  season  to 
season  the  large  fruits  appear  to  contain  a  greater  percentage  of 
sugar  and  a  slightly  smaller  percentage  of  acid  than  the  small  ones. 

The  nitrogen  content  of  the  fruit  does  not  appear  to  increase  with 
an  increase  of  fertilizer. 

Averages  based  upon  the  analyses  reported  in  the  bulletin  show  the 
edible  portion  to  be  61  per  cent  of  the  whole  fruit  and  the  available 
juice  to  be  92.84  per  cent  of  the  edible  portion.  The  juice  contains 
12.07  per  cent  total  sugars  and  the  equivalent  of  0.98  per  cent  of 
citric  acid. 

The  results  of  this  work  as  a  whole  would  seem  to  indicate  that 
liberal  fertilizing  within  certain  limits  materially  increases  the  size 
of  the  fruit  and  also  improves  the  quality  to  a  certain  extent.  Each 
grower  must  learn  from  experience  what  methods  of  culture  and  kind 
of  fertilizer  is  best  suited  to  his  local  conditions.  The  use  of  fertiliz¬ 
ers  which  have  been  shown  to  be  harmful  can  be  avoided,  however, 
and  the  formula  as  worked  out  by  the  station  should  serve  as  a 
valuable  guide  for  the  inexperienced  grower.  The  experiments  re¬ 
ported  on  were  conducted  with  shed-grown  pines,  which  it  is  gen¬ 
erally  conceded  do  not  require  so  much  fertilizer  as  those  grown  in 
the  open;  hence,  it  is  suggested  that  the  amount  to  be  used  in  the 
open  might  be  profitably  increased  beyond  the  amount  specified  for 
sheds. 

WART  DISEASE  0E  THE  POTATO.® 

During  the  past  thirteen  years  a  serious  fungus  disease  of  potatoes 
has  spread  throughout  European  countries.  It  was  first  recorded 
from  Hungary  in  1896  and  appeared  in  England  in  1901,  and  is 
known  as  the  “  black  scab,”  u  warty  disease,”  “  cauliflower  disease  of 
potatoes,”  and  “  potato  canker.”  During  the  years  that  have  elapsed 
since  the  disease  first  became  known  it  has  spread  into  Ireland,  Scot¬ 
land,  England,  Scandinavia,  Germany,  France,  Italy,  and  Newfound¬ 
land,  and  is  prevalent  over  the  greater  part  of  Europe.  In  England 
alone  244  cases  have  been  reported  to  the  authorities  under  the 
new  act.  It  was  not  known  on  the  American  Continent  until  it  made 
its  appearance  in  Newfoundland  in  1909.  The  extraordinary  viru¬ 
lence  of  the  disease  in  Great  Britain  and  the  rapidity  with  which  it 
has  spread  make  it  necessary  to  warn  all  potato  growers  to  be  on  the 

a  Compiled  from  Canada  Cent.  Expt.  Farm  Bui.  63 ;  Sci.  Proc.  Roy.  Dublin 
Soc.,  n.  ser.,  12  (1909),  No.  14,  p.  131.  See  also  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Bur.  Plant 
Indus.  Circ.  52. 

412 


8 


EXPERIMENT  STATION  WORK,  LVIII. 


lookout  for  this  disease.  Where  allowed  to  establish  itself  it  renders 
the  cultivation  of  potatoes  extremely  difficult,  as  they  can  not  be  raised 
on  that  ground  for  a  period  of  at  least  six  years.  Therefore,  stringent 
preventive  measures  should  be  used  to  keep  this  disease  out  of  the 
United  States.  By  the  terms  of  the  “  Destructive  insect  and  pests 
order  of  1908  ”  in  England,  Scotland,  and  Wales,  persons  concealing 
this  disease  are  liable  to  prosecution  and  a  heavy  penalty. 

It  is  believed  that  the  disease  is  likely  to  be  introduced  into  the 
United  States  at  any  time.  In  order  that  the  disease  may  be  recog¬ 
nized  and  promptly  reported  it  is  fully  described  by  H.  T.  Giissow 
in  a  bulletin  of  the  Central  Experimental  Farm  of  Canada  and  by 
W.  A.  Orton  in  a  circular  of  the  Bureau  of  Plant  Industry  of  this 
Department. 

Where  the  disease  is  prevalent  no  healthy  tubers  will  develop. 
When  lifted  they  will  show  various  degrees  of  injury.  The  first  indi¬ 
cation  of  the  disease  may 
be  noticed  around  the 
eyes  of  the  potato,  which 
show  an  abnormal  devel¬ 
opment  of  the  dormant 
shoot.  In  this  condi¬ 
tion  the  disease  is  liable 
to  escape  detection,  and 
thus  be  spread  by  the 
use  of  infected  tubers  as 
seed.  In  the  earlier 
stages  of  the  disease  the 
eye  will  be  found  slightly  protruding  in  the  form  of  a  single  or 
compound  group  of  small  nodules,  varying  from  the  size  of  a  pin 
head  to  that  of  a  pea.  (See  fig.  1.)  The  gray  surface  of  the 
swollen  eye  is  dotted  over  with  golden-yellow  rings,  as  seen  with  a 
pocket  lens.  Some  tubers  will  be  found,  when  the  crop  is  harvested, 
with  more  or  less  than  one-half  of  them  covered  by  these  warty 
excrescences,  which  in  some  instances  are  larger  than  the  tuber  itself. 
This  warty  growth  consists  of  a  coral-like  mass,  of  more  or  less  scaly 
excrescences  (see  figs.  2  and  3),  similar  in  appearance  to  the  well- 
known  crown  or  root  gall  of  apples.  The  warts  are  of  a  somewhat 
lighter  color  at  the  base  and  dotted  with  minute  rusty  brown  spots 
over  the  surface.  In  advanced  stages,  the  tubers  are  wholly  covered 
with  this  growth,  and  have  lost  every  semblance  to  potatoes.  (See 
fig.  3.)  A  still  more  advanced  stage  occurs  when  the  fungus  has 
utilized  every  particle  of  food  stored  in  the  potato  and  has  reduced  it 
to  a  brownish-black  soft  mass,  giving  off  a  very  unpleasant  putrid 
odor.  This  is  the  most  dangerous  stage  of  the  disease,  as  tubers  which 

412 


Fig.  1. — A  potato  tuber  showing  eyes  attacked  by 

wart  disease. 


EXPERIMENT  STATION  WORK,  LVIII.  9 

have  reached  it  can  not  be  harvested  whole.  They  break  in  pieces 
and  thus  the  brownish  pulpy  mass,  consisting  almost  entirely  of  the 


Fig.  2. — Potato  tuber  half  covered  by  excrescences  caused  by  wart  disease. 


Fig.  3.— Potato  plant  attacked  by  wart  disease. 


spores  of  the  fungus  and  remains  of  the  cell  walls  of  the  potato,  is 
broken  up  and  the  land  is  badly  infected  for  years.  The  wart  is  a 
52475°— Bull.  412—10 - 2 


10 


EXPERIMENT  STATION  WORK,  LVIII. 


wrinkled  proliferation  or  corrugation  of  the  flesh  of  the  tuber,  due  to 
excessive  cell  division  caused  by  the  stimulating  presence  of  the 
fungus  parasite.  In  the  last  stages,  the  whole  wart  becomes  more  or 
less  black,  giving  the  term  of  “  black  scab  ”  to  the  disease.  The 
parasite  not  only  passes  through  the  host  from  cell  to  cell,  but  it  also 
spreads  from  tuber  to  tuber  and  from  plant  to  plant,  by  the  forma¬ 
tion  during  the  growing  season  of  summer  swarm  spores.  These 
attack  the  healthy  potato  tissues.  This  disease  is  often  so  prevalent 
as  to  destroy  the  entire  crop. 

Diseased  tubers  are  not  fit  for  seed,  and  should  be  either  destroved 
by  burning  or  boiled  and  fed  to  pigs,  and  as  the  tops  also  may  be 
diseased  they  should  be  gathered  and  burned.  Infected  soil  will  for 
years  produce  unsound  crops,  and  the  disease  may  be  carried  to  unin¬ 
fected  areas  by  soil  adhering  to  the  boots  of  the  workmen,  to  farm 
carts,  and  to  implements.  Under  no  circumstances  should  unboiled 
or  decayed  potatoes  be  used  as  food  for  stock,  not  only  because  the 
feeding  value  is  reduced,  but  mainly  because  the  spores  are  capable 
of  germination  after  passing  through  the  body  of  the  animal.  In 
removing  the  potatoes  from  the  field,  the  greatest  precaution  should 
be  taken  to  clean  thoroughly  and  disinfect  the  shoes,  farm  carts,  and 
implements  used.  It  is  recommended  when  the  tubers  are  too  wet  to 
burn,  that  a  hole  be  dug  large  enough  to  hold  all  of  the  tubers, 
covered  with  a  layer  of  lime  6  inches  deep,  and  then  a  layer  of  pota¬ 
toes,  another  layer  of  lime  6  inches  deep,  and  so  on,  using  unslaked 
lime.  In  this  manner  the  tubers  are  put  out  of  harm’s  way.  The  land 
should  be  fallowed  and  then  treated  with  unslaked  lime  at  the  rate 
of  4  or  5  tons  per  acre.  In  fields  worked  on  a  four-course  rotation, 
growers  should  replace  the  potatoes  by  some  other  crop,  and  thus 
make  eight  years  between  the  two  successive  potato  crops.  Never 
use  seed  potatoes  from  a  diseased  crop.  If  the  seed  is  suspected,  the 
sets  should  be  powdered  with  sulphur  and  be  stored  in  boxes  until 
planted.  Four  or  5  pounds  of  sulphur  is  sufficient  to  treat  1  ton  of 
potatoes.  The  application  of  kainit  or  other  potash-manure  and  of 
phosphates,  with  close  inspection  of  seed  tubers  and  the  avoidance 
of  low-lying  ground,  should  be  used  to  prevent  a  recurrence  of  an 
attack.  Gas  lime  applied  in  May  or  June  and  sulphur  mixed  in  the 
soil  destroy  the  pest  in  the  ground. 

In  view  of  the  serious  character  of  the  disease,  Mr.  Orton  urges 
American  growers  and  importers  to  cooperate  in  an  effort  to  prevent 
it  securing  a  foothold  in  this  country,  and  shows  how  important  it  is 
that  any  cases  discovered  shall  be  promptly  reported  and  all  possible 
means  taken  to  prevent  the  spread  of  the  disease. 

412 


EXPERIMENT  STATION  WORK,  LVIII.  11 

THE  TYPHOID  OH  HOUSE  FLY.® 

Much  has  been  written  during  the  last  few  years  calling  attention 
to  the  danger  that  lurks  in  the  presence  of  that  common  household 
pest,  the  house  fly.  In  order  to  emphasize  the  importance  of  this  fly 
as  a  disseminator  of  disease  germs,  Dr.  L.  O.  Howard,  chief  of  the 
Bureau  of  Entomology  of  this  Department,  has  given  to  it  the  name 
typhoid  fly,  which  name  has  now  come  into  quite  common  use.  This 
fly  of  world-wide  distribution  is  perhaps  the  one  most  important  in¬ 
sect  pest  known  to  man.  As  a  direct  pest  it  is  a  source  of  great 
annoyance,  necessitating,  with  the  mosquito,  an  estimated  annual 
expenditure  in  the  United  States  alone  of  more  than  $10,000,000 
for  the  screening  of  habitations.  But  the  importance  of  this  fly 
as  an  annoying  pest  is  insignificant  compared  with  its  importance  as 
a  menace  to  public  health  through  the  dissemination  of  disease  germs. 
In  the  maggot  stage  the  fly  thrives  in  all  kinds  of  filth  and  as  adult 
it  feeds  upon  similar  materials,  thus  ingesting  the  deadly  germs 
of  enteric  diseases,  such  as  typhoid  fever,  cholera,  cholera  infantum, 
and  tropical  dysentery,  to  deposit  them  hours,  or  even  days,  later  in 
fly  specks,  often  on  various  articles  of  food ;  or  these  microscopic 
organisms  may  be  collected  on  the  feet  of  the  fly  and  later  adhere  to 
some  food  supply  over  which  the  fly  may  crawl  in  its  travels. 

Typhoid  fever  is  one  of  the  most  serious  ailments  to  which  man  is 
subject.  There  are  about  250,000  cases  of  this  disease  annually  in 
America,  about  35,000  proving  fatal.  Sixty  per  cent  of  the  deaths 
in  the  Franco-Prussian  war  and  30  per  cent  of  the  deaths  in  the  Boer 
war  were  caused  by  this  disease.  One  investigator  has  found  the 
bacilli  of  typhoid  fever  in  the  dejecta  of  house  flies  twenty-three 
days  after  feeding,  while  another  records  the  presence  of  this  bacillus 
in  flies  during  a  period  of  two  weeks.  The  possibilities  of  transmit¬ 
ting  typhoid  fever  are  appalling  to  the  layman,  when  it  is  remem¬ 
bered  that  the  germs  of  this  disease  may  be  in  the  svstem  several 
weeks  before  diagnosis  is  possible,  continue  in  numbers  six  or  eight 
weeks  after  apparent  recovery,  and  in  exceptional  cases  may  be  dis¬ 
charged  from  the  system  during  a  period  of  several  years.  There  are 
authentic  records  of  a  patient  distributing  these  germs  for  seventeen 
years  and  being  the  incipent  cause  of  13  cases  during  fourteen 
years  of  that  period.  Other  diseases  conveyed  by  this  fly  are  tuber¬ 
culosis,  anthrax,  plague,  trachoma,  septicemia,  erysipelas,  leprosy, 
yaws,  and  perhaps  smallpox. 

“Compiled  from  Connecticut  Storrs  Sta.  Bui.  51,  p.  95;  Maryland  Sta.  Bui. 
134 ;  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Bur.  Ent.  Bui.  78 ;  Circ.  71,  rev. ;  North  Carolina  Dept. 
Agr.,  Ent.  Circ.  25;  Jour.  Econ.  Ent.,  2  (1909),  No.  1,  p.  39;  Reprint  from  Cal. 
Jour.  Technol.,  14  (1909),  No.  2;  Bui.  Berkeley,  Cal.,  Bd.  Health,  1909,  June  29. 

412 


12 


EXPERIMENT  STATION  WORK,  LVIII 


The  experiments  of  an  Italian  investigator  have  shown  that  the 
eggs  of  tapeworms  and  several  other  intestinal  worms  pass  uninjured 
through  the  alimentary  tract  of  flies.  The  larvae  or  maggots  are  also 
the  cause  of  diarrhea  and  other  intestinal  disturbances  in  children. 

In  regard  to  the  importance  of  the  house  fly,  Symons,  of  the  Mary¬ 
land  Experiment  Station,  says: 

It  is  well  known  that  tlie  germ  of  typhoid  fever  may  be  in  the  human  system 
several  weeks  before  it  is  detected  and  also  for  several  weeks  after  all  symp¬ 
toms  have  disappeared  and  the  patient  [is]  apparently  well.  The  excreta  of 
such  persons,  which  may  be  in  an  open  privy,  or  in  many  cases  in  country  dis¬ 
tricts  located  anywhere  around  the  outbuildings,  is  visited  by  the  fly,  whose 
feet  and  body  are  particularly  adapted  to  carrying  germs.  This  same  fly  after 
visiting  such  places  may  immediately  return  to  the  house  of  the  sick  or  that 
of  a  neighbor  and  be  seen  crawling  in  the  kitchen  or  dining  room  over  the  food 
that  is  prepared  to  be  eaten  by  the  unaffected  persons.  Not  only  may  the  fly 
disseminate  the  disease  to  the  healthy  within  the  family  of  the  sick  or  that  of 
close-by  neighbors,  but  there  is  every  opportunity  for  the  same  infected  fly  to  visit 
the  village  or  city  store  where  foods  are  exposed  and  thus  spread  the  disease  to 
those  families  who  purchase  them.  The  butcher  wagon  of  the  country  or  the  trol¬ 
ley  or  express  train  carrying  food  such  as  sacked  meat,  etc.,  may  easily  become 
factors  in  the  dissemination  of  this  disease  if  such  carriers  are  loaded  at  or 
visit  points  where  conditions  are  favorable  for  visitation  by  infested  flies.  The 
house  fly  is  connected  with  the  dissemination  of  intestinal  diseases  other  than 
typhoid  fever.  Doctor  Jackson,  of  New  York,  points  out  that  the  immunity 
from  diarrhea  of  breast-fed  babies  and  the  frequency  of  its  occurrence  among 
artificially  fed  babies  indicates  strongly  the  food  as  a  medium  of  transmission, 
and  further  states  that  in  his  extended  study  of  this  problem  along  the  water 
front  of  New  York  City  during  1907,  he  found  that  the  prevalence  of  these  dis¬ 
eases  among  children  and  adults  corresponded  to  the  prevalence  of  flies.  Further, 
Doctor  Felt,  in  a  recent  paper,  states  that  “  it  is  well  known  that  flies  feed  upon 
sputum.  Experiments  by  Lord,  recorded  in  the  Boston  Medical  and  Surgical 
Journal,  show  that  flies  may  ingest  tubercular  sputum  and  excrete  tubercular 
bacilli,  the  virulence  of  which  may  last  for  at  least  fifteen  days.  He  considers 
the  danger  of  human  infection  from  this  source  to  lie  in  the  injection  of  fly 
specks  on  food,  and  suggests  that  during  the  fly  season  great  attention  should 
be  paid  to  the  screening  of  rooms  and  hospital  wards  containing  patients  with 
tuberculosis  and  laboratories  where  tubercular  material  is  examined.” 

In  an  investigation  of  the  sources  of  bacteria  in  milk,  Esten  and 
Mason,  of  the  Connecticut  Storrs  Station,  studied  the  bacterial 
population  of  414  flies  and  conclude  that  the  domestic  fly  is  a  dan¬ 
gerous  enemy  to  human  health. 

The  numbers  of  bacteria  on  a  single  fly  may  range  all  the  way  from  550  to 
6,600,000.  Early  in  the  fly  season  the  numbers  of  bacteria  on  flies  are  com¬ 
paratively  small,  while  later  the  numbers  are  comparatively  very  large.  The 
place  wrhere  flies  live  also  determines  largely  the  numbers  .that  they  carry. 
The  average  for  the  414  flies  was  about  one  and  one-fourth  millions  bacteria 
on  each.  It  hardly  seems  possible  for  so  small  a  bit  of  life  to  carry  so  large 
a  number  of  organisms.  The  method  of  the  experiment  was  to  catch  the  flies 
from  the  several  sources  by  means  of  a  sterile  fly  net,  introduce  them  into  a 
sterile  bottle,  and  pour  into  the  bottle  a  known  quantity  of  sterilized  water, 
412 


EXPERIMENT  STATION  WORK,  LVIII.  13 

then  shake  the  bottle  to  wash  the  bacteria  from  their  bodies,  to  simulate  the 
number  of  organisms  that  would  come  from  a  fly  in  falling  into  a  lot  of 
milk.  *  *  The  objectionable  class,  coli-aerogenes  type,  was  two  and  one- 

half  times  as  abundant  as  the  favorable  acid  type.  If  these  flies  stayed  in  the 
pig-pen  vicinity  there  would  be  less  objection  to  the  flies  and  the  kinds  of 
organisms  they  carry,  but  the  fly  is  a  migratory  insect  and  it  visits  everything 
“  under  the  sun.”  It  is  almost  impossible  to  keep  it  out  of  our  kitchens,  dining 
rooms,  cow  stables,  and  milk  rooms.  The  only  remedy  for  this  rather  serious 
condition  of  things  is,  remove  the  pigpen  far  as  possible  from  the  dairy  and 
dwelling  house.  Extreme  care  should  be  taken  in  keeping  flies  out  of  the  cow 
stable,  milk  rooms,  and  dwellings.  Flies  walking  over  our  food  are  the  cause 
of  one  of  the  worst  contaminations  that  could  occur  from  the  standpoint  of 
cleanliness  and  the  danger  of  distributing  disease  germs. 

Epidemics  of  intestinal  diseases  among  infants  fed  with  cow’s  milk  appear  to 
be  caused  more  often  by  flies  than  any  other  source.  Milk  comes  to  cities  from 
rural  districts  where  the  principles  of  sanitation  are  not  applied.  This  fact 
points  to  the  necessity  of  handling  milk,  especially  during  hot  weather,  with 
great  care  and  cleanliness.  The  use  of  clean  milk  in  a  community  always 
lowers  the  infant  death  rate. 

Another  preventive  measure  is  to  keep  milk  clean  through  its  entire  course 
from  cow  to  consumer.  Also  to  keep  it  cool  and  always  away  from  flies.  All 
sewer  openings  on  private  or  public  property  should  have  blind  openings  of 
such  a  nature  that  it  would  be  impossible  for  flies  to  visit  them.  All  refuse 
from  dwellings  should  be  disposed  of  in  such  a  manner  that  no  flies  could  get  at 
it.  Manure  heaps  are  the  most  luxurious  media  for  the  multiplication  of  flies. 
Manure  should  never  be  piled  near  a  dairy  or  dwelling.  Its  best  disposition  is 
to  work  it  into  the  soil  [as]  soon  as  possible  during  the  summer  months. 

While  there  are  several  species  of  flies  which  are  commonly  found 
in  houses,  but  one  of  these  should  be  called  the  house  fly  proper.  This 
species  has  been  found  by  Doctor  Howard  to  compose  98.8  per  cent 
of  the  whole  number  of  insects  captured  in  houses  throughout  the 
whole  country.  It  has  been  shown  that  this  fty,  while  breeding  most 
numerously  in  horse  stables,  is  also  attracted  to  human  excrement  and 
will  breed  in  this  substance.  Kitchen  refuse,  dooryard  rubbish,  cracks 
in  the  stable  and  stall  floors'  where  manure  falls  between,  but  which 
can  easily  be  remedied  by  the  use  of  cement,  stable  yards  and  town 
lots  used  for  horses,  and  unused  brewers1  grains  and  mash  dumped  as 
waste  are  other  places  where  this  prolific  fly  will  breed  and  which 
should  be  removed  in  the  campaign  against  it.  In  a  campaign  con¬ 
ducted  at  Berkeley,  Cal.,  Herms,  of  the  California  Experiment  Sta¬ 
tion,  found  that  in  one  instance  a  flv  nuisance  was  due  to  the  habit  of 
the  maggots  of  leaving  the  manure  pile  in  four  or  five  days  and  bur¬ 
rowing  into  the  soil  beneath  or  crawling  into  near-by  cracks  and 
crevices,  thus  escaping  removal  with  the  weekly  collection.  An 
estimate  was  made  of  the  number  of  full-grown  or  nearly  full-grown 
larvae  in  a  manure  pile  after  an  exposure  of  four  days.  In  15  pounds 
of  manure,  samples  taken  from  five  different  parts,  a  total  of  10,282 
maggots  was  counted.  The  estimated  weight  of  this  entire  pile  of 

412 


14 


EXPERIMENT  STATION  WORK,  LVIII. 


manure  was  1,000  pounds,  of  which  surely  two-thirds  was  infested, 
thus  giving  the  total  of  over  455,000  maggots  for  this  one  manure  pile. 

Symons,  of  the  Maryland  Station,  gives  the  following  account  of 
the  life  history  of  the  fly : 

The  common  house  fly  ( Musca  domestica)  is  a  medium-sized  fly,  grayish  in 
color,  with  its  body  somewhat  streaked  with  blackish  gray.  As  previously 
mentioned,  its  body,  but  more  especially  its  legs  and  feet,  are  covered  with 
minute  hairs.  Its  mouth  parts  are  formed  for  lapping  and  not  biting,  yet  many 
people  think  of  the  house  fly  as  being  able  to  bite.  This  is  no  doubt  due  to  the 
presence  in  the  houses  of  one  of  the  stable  flies,  whose  mouth  parts  are  formed 
for  piercing.  The  insect  winters  in  the  adult  state,  hiding  in  houses  or  out-of- 
the-way  places.  At  the  approach  of  warm  weather  the  flies  come  forth  from 
their  hiding  places  and  commence  to  lay  their  tiny  white  eggs.  These  eggs 
commonly  are  deposited  in  horse  manure,  as  this  seems  to  be  the  preferred 
larval  food,  and  it  is  from  this  source  that  the  majority  of  the  house  flies 
come.  Eggs  may  also  be  laid  in  human  excreta  and  in  decayed  vegetable  and 
animal  matter.  Doctor  Howard  found  in  midsummer  in  the  vicinity  of  Wash¬ 
ington  that  a  female  fly  lays  about  120  eggs,  which  hatch  in  about  eight  hours. 
The  white  larvae  or  maggots,  which  are  pointed  at  one  end  and  blunt  at  the 
other,  grow  rapidly  and  change  to  a  pupa  in  four  or  five  days,  the  adult  emerg¬ 
ing  from  the  pupa  in  about  five  days,  thus  completing  their  life  history  in 
about  ten  days.  Howard  states  that  “  there  is  abundance  of  time  for  the 
development  of  twelve  or  thirteen  generations  in  the  climate  of  Washington 
every  summer.” 

Herms,  of  the  California  Station,  is  authority  for  the  statement  that 
“  the  fly  does  not  of  its  own  accord  travel  far  from  its  breeding  place, 
probably  not  more  than  a  block  or  two,  which  simplifies  matters  of 
control.” 

In  the  house  a  5  to  8  per  cent  solution  of  formaldehyde  sweetened 
with  sugar,  honey,  or  the  like,  and  placed  in  shallow  vessels  on 
window  sills  and  tables  serves  as  a  good  substitute  for  arsenical  and 
cobalt  fly  poisons.  Permanent  preventive  measures  are,  however, 
far  less  expensive  in  the  end  and  much  more  effective  than  the  use 
of  temporary  methods.  Where  many  horses  are  stabled,  a  closet  to 
receive  manure  can  be  built  at  a  small  cost.  Such  a  closet  must  be 
kept  closed,  except  when  the  stable  refuse  is  being  placed  in  it  or 
is  being  removed.  The  effectiveness  of  fly-tight  manure  receptacles 
has  been  demonstrated  beyond  question.  A  form  of  manure  bin 
described  by  Herms,  of  the  California  Station,  which  is  simple  in  its 
construction,  but  effective,  and  which  can  be  placed  outside  the  stable, 
is  shown  in  the  accompanying  illustration.  The  refuse  is  removed 
from  the  bin  by  lifting  up  the  front  hinged  door  (fig.  4).  Ventila¬ 
tion  is  secured  by  means  of  screened  openings  in  either  end.  Where 
there  are  no  sliding  doors  to  obstruct  a  more  practical  receptacle  may 
be  constructed  in  the  form  of  a  low  lean-to,  with  a  small  screen  door 
connecting  it  with  the  stable,  through  which  the  manure  may  be 
thrown  into  the  shed,  and  also  providing  for  ventilation.  An  outer 

412 


EXPERIMENT  STATION  WORK,  LVIII.  15 

door,  such  as  is  shown  in  the  figure,  would  give  access  for  the  removal 
of  the  refuse. 

Where  only  one  horse  is  stabled  the  manure  may  be  conveniently  placed  in 
ordinary  garbage  cans  and  stamped  down,  or  in  tight  barrels  covered  over  with 
a  well-fitting  lid  or  wire  screen.  *  *  *  On  the  farm  or  ranch  it  is  often 

possible,  and  certainly  advisable,  to  remove  the  stable  manures  every  morning 
merely  by  backing  the  cart  to  the  stable  door  and  depositing  therein  the 
material  and  hauling  it  to  the  field  at  once,  where  it  is  scattered.  The  manure 
should  in  all  cases  be  scattered  upon  the  field  and  not  be  allowed  to  accumulate 
there  in  heaps.  Thinly  scattered  manure  does  not  favor  the  breeding  of  flies, 
because  of  lack  of  moisture. 


Many  cities  and  towns  are  now  conducting  campaigns  against  the 

house  fly,  and  this  number  is  rapidly  increasing.  A  series  of  rules 
formulated  in  1906  by  the  health  department  of  the  District  of 

Columbia  has  been  briefly  summarized  by  Doctor  Howard,  as  follows : 

All  stalls  in  which  animals  are  kept  shall  have  the  surface  of  the  ground 
covered  with  a  water-tight  floor.  Every  person  occupying  a  building  where 
domestic  animals  are  kept  shall  maintain,  in  connection  therewith,  a  bin  or  pit 
for  the  reception  of  manure,  and,  pending  the  removal  from  the  premises  of  the 
manure  from  the  animal  or  animals,  shall  place  such  manure  in  said  bin  or 
pit.  This  bin  shall  be  so  constructed  as  to  exclude  rain  water,  and  shall  in  all 
other  respects  be  water-tight  except  as  it  may  be  connected  with  the  public 
sewer.  It  shall  be  provided  with  a  suitable  cover  and  constructed  so  as  to  pre- 
412 


16 


EXPERIMENT  STATION  WORK,  LYIII. 

vent  the  ingress  and  egress  of  flies.  No  person  owning  a  stable  shall  keep  any 
manure  or  permit  any  manure  to  be  kept  in  or  upon  any  portion  of  the  premises 
other  than  the  bin  or  pit  described,  nor  shall  he  allow  any  such  bin  or  pit  to  be 
overfilled  or  needlessly  uncovered.  Horse  manure  may  be  kept  tightly  rammed 
into  well-covered  barrels  for  the  purpose  of  removal  in  such  barrels.  Every 
person  keeping  manure  in  any  of  the  more  densely  populated  parts  of  the  District 
shall  cause  all  such  manure  to  be  removed  from  the  premises  at  least  twice 
every  week  between  June  1  and  October  31,  and  at  least  once  every  wreek  be¬ 
tween  November  1  and  May  31  of  the  following  year.  No  person  shall  remove 
or  transport  any  manure  over  any  public  highway  in  any  of  the  more  densely 
populated  parts  of  the  District  except  in  a  tight  vehicle  which,  if  not  inclosed, 
must  be  effectually  covered  with  canvas,  so  as  to  prevent  the  manure  from  being 
dropped.  No  person  shall  deposit  manure  removed  from  the  bins  or  pits  within 
any  of  the  more  densely  populated  parts  of  the  District  without  a  permit  from 
the  health  officer.  Any  person  violating  any  of  the  provisions  shall,  upon  con¬ 
viction  thereof,  be  punished  by  a  fine  of  not  more  than  $40  for  each  effense. 

In  case  infested  manure  can  not  be  removed  it  may  be  drenched 
with  a  kerosene  emulsion,  1  part  of  oil  to  10  of  water,  or  with  Paris 
green,  2  ounces  to  1  gallon  of  water.  Cresol  compounds,  used  five 
times  as  strong  as  directed  for  sheep  dips,  are  also  useful,  as  is  chlorid 
of  lime  if  used  liberally. 

The  floors  of  stables  should  be  made  smooth  and  hard,  so  that  the 
manure  can  not  only  be  forked  out,  but  the  floors  thoroughly  swept. 
After  the  floors  are  thoroughly  cleaned  it  is  well  to  sprinkle  air-slaked 
lime  about  the  stalls  to  keep  them  dry.  The  manure  should  be  re¬ 
moved  at  once,  so  that  flies  can  not  gain  access  to  it.  All  alleys  should 
be  kept  free  from  rubbish,  in  which  the  flies  may  be ;  and  it  is  also 
important  that  garbage  be  collected  regularly. 

The  above  facts  make  it  evident  that,  in  addition  to  being  a  very 
wasteful  method  of  handling  fertilizing  material,  the  ordinary  ex¬ 
posed  barnyard  manure  heap  is  a  breeding  place  for  a  frightful 
nuisance  and  menace  to  health,  and  it  would  seem  that  the  protection 
of  the  manure  against  flies,  as  well  as  from  loss  by  exposure,  is  a 
matter  well  worthy  of  more  serious  attention  by  farmers.® 

RICE  AND  ITS  BY-PRODUCTS  AS  FEEDING  STUFFS.* * 6 

With  the  rapid  extension  of  the  rice-growing  area  in  the  Southern 
States  and  the  increase  in  price  of  corn  and  other  feeds,  rice  and 
its  by-products  have  become  of  considerable  importance  in  making 
up  rations  for  live  stock. 

®A  cheap  lean-to  shelter,  described  in  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Farmers’  Bui.  192 

might  be  made  to  accomplish  both  these  purposes. 

6  Compiled  from  Alabama  Sta.  Bui.  122;  Louisiana  Stas.  Buis.  77,  115;  Feed 
Stuffs  Rpt.  190S-9,  pp.  6,  7;  North  Carolina  Sta.  Bui.  169;  South  Carolina 
Sta.  Bui.  55 ;  Texas  Sta.  Buis.  73,  76,  86 ;  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Farmers’  Bui.  110 ; 
Hawaii  Sta.  Rpt.  1908,  pp.  51-58. 

412 


17 


EXPERIMENT  STATION  WORK,  LVIII. 

Many  farmers  feed  rice  in  the  sheaf  with  good  results.  Rough 
rice  as  it  comes  from  the  thrashing  machine  when  added  to  a  ration 
of  cotton-seed  meal,  cotton-seed  hulls,  and  alfalfa  hay  in  a  steer- 
feeding  experiment  at  the  Texas  Experiment  Station,  produced 
slightly  larger  gains  in  weight,  but  at  an  increased  cost.  If  the  rice 
had  been  worth  only  $10  per  ton,  the  cost  of  gain  would  have  been 
the  same  either  with  or  without  the  rice.  W.  R.  Dodson,  of  the 
Louisiana  Experiment  Station,  estimates  that  162  pounds  of  rough 
rice,  or  paddy,  as  it  is  sometimes  called,  are  about  equivalent  in 
feeding  value  to  174  pounds  of  corn,  and  at  present  prices  it  should 
return  $2  per  barrel  when  fed  to  steers  under  favorable  conditions. 
The  experience  of  practical  farmers  shows  that  both  white  and  red 
rice  are  valuable  feeding  stuffs  for  work  horses  and  mules,  fattening 
steers,  dairy  cows,  and  swine,  but  that  the  best  grades  of  white  rice 
are  often  too  high  in  price  to  be  so  utilized.  As  a  rule,  low-grade 
rice  and  broken  rice  are  worth  more  to  feed  out  than  to  market  at 
the  low  prices  which  they  usually  bring.  “  Market  your  low-grade 
rice  on  the  hoof,”  is  the  advice  of  a  practical  farmer  who  has  had 
experience  in  feeding  it.  But  it  will  pay  to  feed  the  higher  grades 
to  stock  only  in  an  era  of  low  prices. 

Rice  straw. — Rice  straw  as  a  stock  feed  is  about  equal  to  that  of 
good  southern  prairie  hay.  It  contains  on  an  average  4.72  per  cent 
crude  protein,  32.21  per  cent  carbohydrates,  and  1.87  per  cent  fat.  The 
sweetness  and  excellent  flavor  of  well-preserved  rice  straw  adds 
materially  to  its  feeding  value,  because  the  stock  will  consume  large 
quantities  of  it. 

Milling  products  of  rice. — Rough  rice  consists  of  the  grain  proper 
with  its  close-fitting  cuticle  roughly  inclosed  by  the  stiff,  hard  husk, 
or  hull.  The  object  of  milling  is  to  produce  clean  rice  by  removing 
the  hull  and  cuticle  and  to  polish  the  surface  of  the  grain.  The 
by-products  which  result  from  milling  consists  of  hulls,  bran,  and 
polish.  One  bag  of  rice  (162  pounds)  should  produce  about  100 
pounds  clean  rice,  7  pounds  rice  polish,  20  pounds  rice  bran,  and 
35  pounds  chaff  or  hulls.  Grits  or  broken  grains  of  rice  are  found 
in  the  bran  and  polish.  C.  A.  Brown,  in  a  bulletin  of  the  Louisiana 
Station,  says  that — 

In  some  cases  25  per  cent  of  the  feed  consists  of  grits ;  the  varying  amounts  of 
these  in  the  rice  feeds  naturally  cause  a  fluctuation  in  the  composition,  a 
large  quantity  of  grist  causing  an  increase  in  starch  and  a  decrease  in  protein 
and  fat.  While  the  grits  have  a  high  feeding  value,  and"  are  not  particularly 
detrimental  to  the  animal,  as  is  the  case  with  rice  hulls,  it  must  be  noted 
that  many  of  them  pass  through  the  animal  undigested.  These  fragments  of 
rice  are  very  hard  to  break  up  and  are  not  easily  affected  by  the  digestive 
juices  of  the  animal.  Nearly  10  per  cent  of  the  dry  matter  in  the  excrement 
412 


18 


EXPERIMENT  STATION  WORK,  LVIII. 


of  an  animal  fed  with  polish  consisted  of  undigested  grits.  If  these  grits 
could  be  ground  up.  or  if  they  could  be  removed  during  milling,  the  digestibility 
of  the  feed  would  be  increased. 

Rice  meal  should  consist  of  pure  rice  bran,  but  as  usually  found  on 
the  market  it  is  a  mixture  of  bran,  polish,  and  hulls,  and  hence 
varies  so  much  in  composition  that  its  feeding  value  is  problematical 
without  a  guaranteed  chemical  analysis. 

Rice  hulls. — Rice  hulls  are  the  outer  coating  of  the  grain,  and  are 
composed  mainly  of  fiber  and  mineral  matter.  They  are  worthless 
as  a  feed,  and  when  fed  in  large  quantities  are  positively  harmful. 
Rice  hulls  are  often  used  for  adulterating  molasses  and  other  mixed 
feeds.  Considerable  quantities  are  also  ground  and  sold  as  “  husk 
meal  ”  or  “  star  bran.”  At  the  Texas  Station  an  attempt  was  made  to 
substitute  rice  hulls  for  cotton-seed  hulls,  but  the  cattle  would  not 
eat  a  sufficient  quantity,  and  the  ration  finally  selected  consisted  of 
rice  hulls,  cotton-seed  hulls,  cotton-seed  meal,  and  rice  bran.  The 
average  daily  gain  was  1.86  pounds,  at  a  cost  of  4.35  cents.  On  a 
similar  ration,  without  the  rice  hulls,  the  average  values  were  2.17 
pounds,  at  4.6  cents. 

Rice  bran. — Rice  bran  consists  of  the  outer  layer  of  the  rice  kernel, 
together  with  some  of  the  germ,  and  in  a  pure  state  is  the  most 
nutritious  of  the  rice  feeds.  Unfortunately  commercial  rice  bran 
often  contains  more  or  less  hulls,  hence  its  feeding  value  varies  con¬ 
siderably.  Recent  analyses  at  the  Louisiana  Station  showed  a  varia¬ 
tion  from  2.47  to  15.13  per  cent  protein,  1  to  19.19  per  cent  fat,  31.11 
to  54.85  per  cent  carbohydrates,  6.2  to  34.86  per  cent  fiber,  6.66  to 
21.47  per  cent  ash.  The  station  has  adopted  as  a  standard  for  a  good 
rice  bran  12.5  per  cent  protein,  10  per  cent  fat,  not  over  10  per  cent 
fiber,  and  not  over  9  per  cent  ash. 

A  good  rice  bran  as  a  feeding  stuff  is  somewhat  better  than  corn 
or  corn  meal  if  it  smells  sweet,  but  if  it  becomes  rancid  because  of 
the  decomposition  of  the  fatty  material,  cattle  do  not  like  it.  Ran¬ 
cidity  can  probably  be  prevented  by  removing  a  portion  or  all  of  the 
fat,  or  by  heating  the  bran  to  200°  F.  soon  after  milling.  Many  com¬ 
mercial  rice  brans,  though  reaching  the  guaranty,  may  be  adulterated 
and  be  injurious  to  the  animal  when  the  percentage  of  hulls  is  high. 

Doctor  Brown  discusses  the  subject  of  feeding  rice  bran  as  follows: 

Rice  bran  has  been  fed  with  considerable  success  to  horses  and  mules  in 
Louisiana  and  elsewhere  in  the  South.  A  few  examples  of  a  mixed  ration  for 
horses  and  mules,  introducing  rice  meal,  are  given  below.  Such  a  ration  should 
contain  coarse  fodder,  such  as  hay,  in  addition  to  the  concentrates.  The  general 
practice  is  to  use  the  coarse  and  concentrated  feed  in  about  equal  proportions. 
The  following  rations  ought  to  meet  the  needs  of  an  ordinary  farm  mule  weigh¬ 
ing  1,200  pounds  and  doing  a  heavy  amount  of  work  : 

Ration  No.  1. — 15  pounds  crab-grass  hay,  8  pounds  corn,  8  pounds  rice  meal, 
11  pounds  cotton-seed  meal.  If  leguminous  hays  are  available,  these  may  be 
412 


EXPERIMENT  STATION  WORK,  LVIII. 


19 


used  instead  of  cotton-seed  meal  to  supply  protein.  Ration  No.  2. — 15  pounds 
alfalfa  hay,  8  pounds  rice  meal,  2  pounds  corn,  8  pounds  molasses.  Ration 
No.  3. — 15  pounds  cowpea  hay,  8  pounds  rice  meal,  8  pounds  corn. 

The  amounts  of  digestible  protein  in  the  above  rations  approximate  2\  pounds, 
the  amounts  of  digestible  fat  and  carbohydrates  about  15  pounds.  These  values 
exceed  somewhat  the  usual  practice  of  American  feeders,  but  are  no  greater 
than  the  standards  accepted  in  France  and  Germany,  and  certainly  none  too 
large  for  plantation  mules,  which  are  usually  very  heavily  worked.  The 
rations  given  are,  of  course,  only  examples,  and  can  be  varied  in  any  number 
of  different  ways  to  suit  the  convenience  of  the  feeder. 

Comparative  experiments  at  the  North  Carolina  Experiment  Station  in  feed¬ 
ing  rice  bran  and  wheat  bran  to  dairy  cows  have  demonstrated  that  rice  bran 
alone,  with  corn  silage  as  a  source  of  roughage,  is  inferior  to  wheat  bran,  inas¬ 
much  as  cows  lost  both  weight  and  milk  on  the  rice  ration.  Owing  to  the  de- 
liciency  of  rice  bran  in  protein  it  is  difficult  to  make  a  properly  balanced  ration 
for  milch  cows  with  this  feed  alone  in  connection  with  some  kinds  of  roughage. 
Experiments  at  the  above-named  station  show,  however,  that  if  this  deficiency 
in  protein  be  made  up  by  adding  a  little  cotton-seed  meal  to  the  ration,  there 
is  no  difference  in  the  feeding  value  of  rice  bran  and  wheat  bran,  provided  the 
animals  relish  the  feed  equally  well,  which  is  not  always  the  case.  The  distaste 
which  farm  animals  show  at  times  to  rice  bran  was  found  in  our  experiments  to 
be  due  to  a  rancid  condition  of  the  feed. 

The  following  rations  containing  rice  bran  are  suggested  for  milch 
cows: 

Ration  No.  1. — 6  pounds  rice  bran,  10  pounds  sweet  potatoes,  20 
pounds  pea-vine  hay.  Ration  No.  2. — 2  pounds  cotton-seed  meal,  8 
pounds  corn  or  corn-cob  meal,  4  pounds  rice  bran,  15  pounds  pea- 
vine  hay.  Ration  No.  3. — 3  pounds  cotton-seed  meal,  8  pounds  rice 
bran,  10  pounds  molasses,  14  pounds  mixed  grass  hay. 

At  the  Texas  Station  rice  bran  in  a  steer  ration  was  found  inferior 
to  cotton-seed  meal.  In  one  test  rice  bran  replaced  cotton-seed  meal 
in  the  proportion  of  3 : 2,  and  cotton-seed  hulls  constituted  the  coarse 
fodder.  The  average  daily  gain  per  head  was  2.17  pounds,  and  the 
cost  of  a  pound  of  gain  was  4.6  cents.  On  cotton-seed  meal  and  hulls 
the  similar  values  were  2.21  pounds  and  4.61  cents.  The  average 
daily  gain  upon  rice  bran  substituted  for  cotton-seed  meal  in  about 
the  proportion  of  2 : 1  was  2.98  pounds,  and  the  cost  of  a  pound  of 
gain  was  3.14  cents,  as  compared  with  2.88  pounds  and  3.23  cents  on 
cotton-seed  meal  and  hulls.  In  another  trial,  when  rice  bran  was 
added  to  a  ration  of  cotton-seed  meal  and  hulls,  the  quantity  of  the 
bran  being  nearly  half  that  of  the  meal,  the  average  daily  gain  was 
3  pounds,  as  compared  with  2.6  pounds  on  cotton-seed  meal  and  hulls 
only,  the  cost  of  a  pound  of  gain  in  the  two  cases  being  3.9  and  4.1 
cents.  The  following  ration  is  suggested  for  fattening  cattle  per 
thousand  pounds  live  weight:  Cotton-seed  meal,  3  pounds;  rice  bran, 
8  pounds;  molasses,  10  pounds;  mixed  grass  hay,  14  pounds. 

Rice  bran  was  not  relished  by  hogs  at  the  Alabama  Station,  but 
has  been  used  successfully  by  feeders  in  other  places.  Owing  to  its 

412 


20 


EXPERIMENT  STATION  WORK,  LVIII. 


deficiency  in  protein  it  should  not  be  fed  alone  to  growing  pigs,  but 
should  be  used  with  some  supplement  like  skim  milk  or  meat  scrap. 
A  ration  which  may  be  used  per  thousand  pounds  live  weight  of 
swine  is  pure  rice  bran,  12  pounds;  corn,  22  pounds;  skim  milk,  37 
pounds. 

Rice  polish. — Rice  polish  is  the  flour  removed  from  the  rice  kernel  in 
giving  it  a  pearly  luster  that  the  trade  demands.  It  contains  less  fat 
and  protein  than  rice  bran,  but  a  higher  percentage  of  starch.  It  is 
sometimes  used  as  a  stuffing  material  in  the  manufacture  of  sausage. 
A  considerable  amount  of  the  polish  made  in  this  country  is  exported 
to  Germany,  where  it  is  made  into  buttons.  Recent  analysis  of  rice 
polish  showed  a  variation  of  10.13  to  15.50  per  cent  protein,  4.44  to 
14.26  per  cent  fat,  51.73  to  70.30  per  cent  carbohydrates,  0.51  to 
4.87  per  cent  fiber. 

Rice  polish,  when  substituted  for  part  of  the  cotton-seed  meal  in 
a  ration  for  steers  at  the  Texas  Station,  resulted  in  increasing  the 
rate  of  gain,  while  the  cost  of  the  gain  was  slightly  reduced.  The 
following  ration  for  a  steer  weighing  1,000  pounds  is  suggested: 
Cotton  seed  8  pounds,  rice  polish  4  pounds,  alfalfa  or  pea-vine  hay  5 
pounds,  Johnson  grass  hay  10  pounds.  In  five  experiments  at  the 
Alabama  Station  rice  polish  was  found  superior  to  corn  meal  in  feed¬ 
ing  pigs.  One  pound  of  gain  required  only  3.73  pounds  of  rice  polish, 
as  compared  with  4.74  pounds  of  corn  meal.  Hence,  78.6  pounds  of 
the  polish  are  equal  to  100  pounds  of  corn  meal. 

THE  FORCED  MOLTING  OF  FOWLS.0 

The  belief  is  more  or  less  prevalent  among  poultrymen  that  if  hens 
are  forced  to  shed  their  feathers  early  in  the  season  by  partial  starva¬ 
tion  a  larger  number  of  eggs  will  be  produced  during  the  winter  than 
if  the  hens  are  allowed  to  molt  naturally.  Some  who  have  tried  to 
“  force  the  molt  ”  favor  the  practice ;  others  condemn  it.  To  test  this 
point  the  Pennsylvania  Experiment  Station  selected  two  pens  of 
White  Leghorns.  Beginning  August  13  the  hens  in  one  pen  were 
fed  a  limited  grain  ration,  while  those  in  the  other  received  the 
normal  ration.  On  August  21  the  hens  in  the  first  pen  were  again 
given  a  normal  amount  of  feed.  Both  pens  were  fed  alike  from  that 
date.  The  egg  record  for  September,  October,  and  November  showed 
no  benefit  from  forced  molting.  “Forced  molting  seems  at  first  to 
depress,  then  increase  slightly  egg  production,  but  the  net  results  at 
the  end  of  three  months  were  against  forced  molting.” 

These  results  were  less  favorable  than  those  obtained  at  the  West 

°  Compiled  from  New  York  Cornell  Sta.  Bui.  258 ;  New  York  State  Sta.  Rpt. 
1891,  p.  194 ;  Pennsylvania  Sta.  Bui.  87. 

412 


EXPERIMENT  STATION  WORK,  LVIII.  21 

Virginia  Station,  reported  in  a  previous  Farmers’  Bulletin.®  At 
that  station  it  was  considered  advisable  to  feed  sparingly  for  about 
three  weeks  in  August,  for  then  the  molt  was  rapid  and  the  hens 
entered  the  winter  in  better  condition. 

At  the  New  York  State  Experiment  Station  an  experiment  was 
made  to  find  what  effect  a  ration  containing  more  than  an  average 
amount  of  fat  would  have  on  laying  hens.  The  hens  in  one  pen 
received  as  much  tallow  as  was  readily  eaten  with  a  moderate  grain 
ration.  Another  lot  were  fed  a  similar  ration,  with  linseed  meal 
substituted  for  the  tallow.  The  average  egg  production  was  some¬ 
what  in  favor  of  the  hens  having  the  linseed  meal. 

The  greatest  difference  observed  was  that  the  hens  having  tne  linseed  meal 
molted  nearly  all  at  the  same  time,  earlier  in  the  season,  and  more  rapidly. 
Only  a  few  of  the  hens  which  had  been  fed  tallow  had  begun  to  molt  at  the 
close  of  this  feeding  trial,  October  6,  by  which  time  several  hens  from  the 
other  pen  were  in  new  plumage.  The  tallow  ration  was  apparently  too  deficient 
in  nitrogen  to  encourage  the  growth  of  new  feathers,  and  the  results  are  in 
support  of  the  advice  to  feed  during  the  summer  a  highly  nitrogenous  ration 
to  help  early  molting. 

The  New  York  Cornell  Experiment  Station  has  published  a  report 
of  a  series  of  experiments  in  forced  molting,  from  which  the  follow¬ 
ing  statements  regarding  the  nature  of  the  feathers  and  means  of 
forcing  of  the  molt  are  taken : 

While  the  first  body  covering  of  a  chick  may  or  may  not  be  called  plumage, 
it  is  shed  and  replaced  as  if  it  were  plumage.  The  method  of  molting,  how¬ 
ever,  is  peculiar  to  the  downy  coat.  The  baby  chick,  when  it  comes  from  the 
shell,  has  pin  feathers  for  flights.  In  two  or  three  days  it  develops  pin  feathers 
that  will  become  main  tail  feathers.  The  down  grows  longer  and  on  certain 
areas  of  the  body  develops  shafts.  Within  a  few  days  the  shafts  burst  open, 
allowing  the  web  of  the  feather  to  spread  out ;  but  the  down  often  clings  to  the 
tip  of  the  opened  feather.  The  ragged  appearance  to  be  noticed  on  two  or 
three  weeks’  old  chicks  is  due  to  this  clinging  of  the  down  tips. 

The  first  body  feathers  to  appear  are  those  at  the  throat,  just  above  the  crop. 
From  this  point  a  line  of  feathers  extends  down  each  side  of  the  crop  and 
breast.  When  this  line  begins  to  show,  a  tuft  appears  on  each  thigh  and  a  line 
down  the  spine.  The  feathered  areas  increase  in  size  as  the  chick  grows  older, 
so  that  at  the  age  of  4  or  5  weeks  they  have  grown  together,  and  the  healthy 
chick  looks  to  be  well  feathered.  The  wings  and  back  are  covered,  the  feathers 
growing  well  up  the  back  of  the  head,  and  the  breast  is  protected,  except  a 
small  space  over  the  crop.  The  rear  of  the  body  is  covered  by  the  flights,  the 
feathers  on  the  thighs,  and  a  tuft  near  the  rear  of  the  keel  bone.  The  legs  are 
encircled  by  a  ring  of  feathers  just  above  the  shank.  In  a  word,  the  chick’s 
body  is  protected  by  its  feathers  at  every  vital  point. 

It  is  not  generally  known  whether  the  chick  feathers  grow  larger  with  the 
chick’s  development  or  whether  they  are  replaced  by  new  ones;  therefore  an 
effort  was  made  to  determine  this  point.  A  number  of  chicks,  just  from  the 
incubator,  were  leg-banded  and  their  down  stained.  These  chicks  were  in¬ 
spected  daily  for  several  weeks,  and  as  the  feathers  appeared  an  attempt  was 


412 


a  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Farmers’  Bui.  186,  p.  27. 


22 


EXPERIMENT  STATION  WORK,  LVIII. 


made  to  stain  them  also.  The  color  took  well  on  the  flights  and  tail  feathers, 
not  as  well  on  the  body  feathers.  The  first  feathers  were  stained  red  and  those 
that  replaced  them  were  stained  black.  At  the  age  of  8  weeks  all  the  red 
feathers  in  tail  and  wings  had  been  molted,  and  at  13  weeks  all  the  black 
feathers  had  been  replaced  by  white  ones.  At  the  times  mentioned  the  bodies 
were  covered  with  pin  feathers;  but  this  does  not  prove  that  these  feathers 
replaced  others  which  had  been  shed.  This  sequence  of  molts  corresponds  very 
closely  to  the  sequence  of  molts  in  young  wild  birds. 

From  13  weeks  to  just  before  maturity  (5  to  6  months)  the  chicks  were  not 
observed  to  molt.  They  then  shed  all  their  feathers  and  assumed  a  more 
mature  dress,  the  pullets  apparently  getting  their  full  plumage.  They  lost 
their  chick  voice,  developed  bright  red  combs,  and,  to  all  appearances,  were 
about  to  begin  to  lay.  The  rotation  of  this  molt  was  nearly  the  same  as  the 
rotation  of  feathering  in  chicks,  the  oldest  feathers  being  shed  first.  The  wing 
and  tail  feathers,  which  were  the  first  to  appear  on  the  chick,  were,  however, 
retained  until  the  bird  was  well  along  in  the  molt,  and  in  many  cases  were  not 
all  shed  until  after  the  body  molt  was  completed.  The  time  of  molting  the 
flights  and  tail  feathers  varied  in  different  individuals,  but  these  feathers  were 
usually  shed  in  pairs,  one  on  each  wing  or  corresponding  feathers  on  each 
side  of  the  tail,  as  the  case  might  be.  The  first  tail  feathers  to  be  shed  were 
usually  the  middle  pair ;  the  first  wing  feathers  to  be  molted  were  commonly 
the  last  primary  or  first  secondary  on  each  wing,  counting  from  the  tip.  The 
last  feathers  to  be  replaced  were  the  ones  on  the  inside  of  the  wing  just  above 
the  primaries  and  secondaries,  a  small  tuft  on  the  body  just  in  front  of  the 
thigh,  and  the  flight  coverts. 

The  pullets  appeared  to  undergo  this  molt  whether  they  laid  or  not.  After 
the  pullets  began  to  lay  they  seemed  to  shed  no  more  feathers  so  long  as  they 
continued  in  production.  When  they  ceased  to  lay,  many  of  them  began  to 
molt.  In  some  cases  the  molt  was  complete,  extending  to  the  flights  and  the 
tail ;  in  others  it  went  no  farther  than  the  body  feathers,  while  in  still  others 
it  included  only  a  few  feathers  on  different  parts  of  the  body. 

In  former  experiments  conducted  at  this  station  the  pullets  beginning  pro¬ 
duction  before  September  1  nearly  always  molted  the  entire  plumage  in  the 
fall.  The  number  of  eggs  laid  before  molting  did  not  appear  to  influence  the 
completeness  of  the  molt.  One  pullet  laid  30  eggs  and  molted  completely; 
another  laid  1  egg  and  molted  just  as  completely.  Some  of  the  pullets  which 
began  to  lay  at  a  later  date  continued  to  lay  throughout  the  winter  and  spring, 
not  molting  until  the  following  regular  molting  season.  One  of  these  laid  230 
eggs  between  molts — about  58  per  cent  production  for  the  entire  time — thirteen 
months  and  six  days. 

The  first  mature  molt  comes  at  the  end  of  the  first  year  of  laying.  It  seems 
to  be  a  necessary  renewal  of  the  worn-out  plumage.  Feathers,  like  clothes, 
wear  out. 

In  the  mature  molt  it  was  found  that  the  rotation  followed  closely  that  of 
the  prenuptial  molt  before  egg  production  commenced,  the  oldest  feathers  being 
shed  first.  The  mature  molt  seldom  began  while  the  hen  was  laying.  Quite  a 
few  feathers  might  be  shed  earlier  in  the  season  and  during  production,  but  in 
most  cases  the  shedding  of  feathers  ceased  for  a  week  or  two — often  for  a 
much  longer  period — then  the  entire  plumage  was  renewed.  For  convenience, 
this  latter  part  of  the  molt  is  termed  the  “  general  molt.” 

During  this  molt,  some  hens  shed  only  a  few  feathers  at  a  time  in  the  differ 
ent  feather  tracts,  looking  well  clothed  throughout  the  molt,  while  others  shed 
almost  the  entire  plumage  at  once.  The  quick  shedding  gave  a  good  opportu- 
412 


EXPERIMENT  STATION  WORK,  LVIII.  23 

nity  to  observe  the  feather  tracts  on  a  hen.  The  flight  coverts  (the  small,  stiff 
feathers  on  the  finger  of  the  wing)  often  persisted  long  after  the  other  plumage 
was  molted.  These  feathers,  which  had  been  colored,  were  observed  on  several 
hens  as  late  as  April  following  the  molt,  and  were  then  apparently  as  firmly 
fixed  as  ever. 

On  August  11,  190G,  an  attempt  to  force  the  molt  was  made  with 
232  single  comb  White  Leghorns,  by  means  of  restricting  the  amount 
of  food  rather  than  by  changing  the  quality  of  the  ration. 

The  starvation  period  lasted  for  four  weeks.  In  the  first  week,  the  amount 
of  food  was  gradually  reduced  to  one-half  the  usual  quantity.  In  the  following 
two  weeks  about  one-third  rations  were  fed,  which  were  gradually  increased  in 
the  fourth  week  till,  at  its  close,  the  flocks  which  had  been  starved  were  given 
all  they  would  eat. 

Three  flocks  were  fed  in  the  usual  way  and  the  other  flocks  were  given  a 
similar  ration,  but  in  limited  quantity. 

The  experiment  continued  until  November  8,  1907,  a  period  of  455 
days. 

On  the  whole,  it  may  be  said  that  from  August  25  to  October  23  the  starved 
flocks  showed  a  larger  percentage  of  individuals  molting.  After  that  time 
there  was  more  molting  among  the  fed  hens,  though  both  flocks  completed  the 
molt  at  about  the  same  time.  The  molt  of  the  starved  flocks  was  more  uniform, 
and  the  hens  appeared  in  better  physical  condition  at  the  end  of  the  molt  than 
the  fed  hens.  This  may  have  been  due  to  the  fact  that  the  fed  hens  had  laid 
more  eggs.  After  all  flocks  had  resumed  production  there  was  little,  if  any, 
difference  in  their  condition  or  appearance. 

Time  required  to  grow  feathers. — It  is  variously  asserted  that  the  time  re¬ 
quired  for  the  growth  of  a  body  feather  on  a  healthy  fowl  is  approximately 
forty-two  days,  while  the  time  needed  to  develop  the  tail  is  somewhat  longer. 
This  refers  to  plucked  feathers.  The  usual  molting  period  of  a  hen  can  not, 
however,  be  accurately  calculated  from  this  estimate.  In  the  experiment  under 
consideration  the  average  time  of  complete  molting  in  the  six  flocks,  containing 
at  the  end  of  the  molting  season  215  hens,  was  ninety-five  days.  The  average 
time  required  to  complete  the  molt  of  the  3-year-clds  was  nearly  one  hundred 
and  four  days;  of  the  2-year-olds,  about  one  hundred  and  one  days,  and  of  the 
1-year-olds,  eighty-two  days.  The  starved  1-year-olds  averaged  to  molt  more 
quickly  by  thirty-three  days  than  did  the  fed;  the  starved  2-year-olds  were  little 
affected,  while  the  starved  3-year-olds  averaged  twenty  days  longer  in  molting 
than  did  the  fed  birds.  The  average  time  required  to  complete  the  molt  of  the 
three  starved  flocks  was  93.8  days ;  of  the  three  fed  flocks,  97.4  days. 

All  this  would  indicate  that  the  molting  process  continues  much  longer  than  is 
usually  supposed,  and  that  there  is  considerable  variation  in  the  time  of  be¬ 
ginning  the  molt  between  different  individuals  and  between  flocks  of  different 
ages,  also  a  wide  variation  in  the  length  of  time  it  requires  indivduals  to 
complete  the  molt.  One  is  further  impressed  with  the  fact  that,  so  far  as  this 
experiment  is  concerned,  the  method  of  feeding  did  not  materially  alter  the 
normal  conditions  of  molting,  except  with  the  1-year-old  fowls. 

Influence  of  prolificacy  on  the  time  and  rapidity  of  molt. — Persistent  layers, 
unless  broody,  appeared  to  begin  the  molt  within  a  week  after  the  last  egg,  and 
were  usually  in  heavy  molt  in  less  than  two  weeks.  Those  beginning  to  molt 
after  October  1  shed  more  quickly  and  refeathered  more  quickly  than  those 
412 


24 


EXPERIMENT  STATION  WORK,  LVIII. 


molting  earlier,  especially  to  tlie  stage  of  advanced  molt,  when  their  bodies  were 
well  protected.  Hen  No.  61  was  a  good  example.  It  was  fifty-six  days  from 
the  time  she  began  to  shed  until  she  had  grown  a  complete  coat  of  feathers. 

Influence  of  broodiness  on  the  molt. — Broodiness  influenced  the  time  of  molt 
to  a  great  degree.  In  this  experiment  a  number  of  hens  became  broody,  and 
were  allowed  to  sit  for  periods  varying  from  three  or  four  days  to  four  weeks. 
In  no  instance  did  a  hen  shed  more  than  a  few  feathers  while  broody.  Some 
hens  which  had  begun  to  molt  and  had  subsequently  become  broody  ceased 
molting  until  broken  of  broodiness.  When  broken  up  they  began  to  molt  quickly, 
and  shed  and  refeathered  rapidly  and  completely. 

Production  is  the  real  test  of  a  method  of  feeding.  The  starved  hens  aver¬ 
aged  17.3  eggs  from  the  close  of  their  individual  molt  to  April  1,  while  the 
fed  hens  averaged  16.6  eggs  during  the  same  period,  an  average  in  all  the  flocks 
of  16.9  eggs.  The  yearly  production  was,  however,  not  in  favor  of  the  starved 
hens,  which  gave  only  102  eggs  per  year,  while  the  fed  hens  laid  119  eggs  each 
in  the  same  period. 

It  is  considered  important  that  hens  should  quickly  resume  production  after 
molt.  In  this  experiment,  the  average  days  after  molt  before  production  began 
was,  in  the  trap-nested  flocks  (65  hens),  thirty-nine  days  after  the  completion 
of  the  individual  molt.  The  starved  hens  began  to  lay  in  thirty-five  days  and 
the  fed  hens  in  forty-four  days,  or  nine  days  later. 

The  question  naturally  arises  whether  hens  tend  to  molt  at  the  same  season 
in  successive  years.  Careful  observations  of  trap-nested  hens  (1-year-olds)  in 
the  molting  season  of  1906  and  1907  showed  that,  of  both  flocks  (65  hens),  78.5 
per  cent  molted  at  practically  the  same  season  in  two  successive  years.  Where 
the  hens  have  been  fed  in  the  same  way  during  the  two  years,  87.5  per  cent 
molted  at  about  the  same  time.  The  hens  which  had  been  starved  one  year  to 
hasten  the  molt,  and  fed  after  the  usual  method  the  next  year,  did  not  molt  as 
early  the  second  year  as  the  first.  In  other  words,  the  so-called  “  forced  molt  ” 
held  good  for  only  one  season,  and  possibly  delayed  molting  somewhat  the 
second  year. 

It  is  apparent  from  the  platted  curves  of  percentages  of  egg  production  and 
hens  molting  that  early  molting  causes  early  decline  in  the  production  and 
that  late  molting  tends  to  postpone  the  time  of  decline.  It  is  also  indicated 
that  the  older  fowls  have  a  tendency  to  molt  later  than  the  younger,  and  that 
the  fed  flocks  began  to  molt  considerably  later  during  their  second  year,  1907, 
than  they  did  during  their  first  year,  1906.  Inasmuch  as  the  same  tendency 
was  observed  with  both  starved  and  fed  flocks,  it  would  appear  that  the  lateness 
of  molting  in  the  second  year  might  be  due  more  to  the  age  of  the  fowls  than 
to  the  methods  of  feeding. 

Forty-five  per  cent  of  the  starved  liens  began  to  lay  at  about  the  same  time 
in  1907  as  they  did  in  1906.  With  the  fed  hens  it  was  about  63  per  cent.  In 
1906  (the  year  of  starving)  79  per  cent  of  the  starved  hens  began  laying  earlier 
than  in  1907,  and  the  entire  starved  flock  averaged  twenty-four  days  earlier 
in  1906. 

Hens  that  shed  late  take  less  time  to  molt. — In  these  observations  it  was  found 
that  the  hens,  from  all  pens,  which  began  to  molt  before  September  15,  averaged 
one  hundred  and  eight  days  molting,  while  those  which  began  after  that  date 
molted  in  eighty-one  days.  This  condition  seems,  in  the  case  of  the  1-year-olds, 
to  be  modified  by  the  method  of  feeding.  Of  the  fed  1-year-olds,  the  hens  which 
molted  early  averaged  thirty-five  days  longer  in  molting  than  those  which 
molted  later ;  but  of  the  starved  1-year-olds,  those  which  shed  early  averaged 
two  days  less  in  molting  than  those  which  shed  later.  The  8  hens,  from  both 
412 


EXPEKIMENT  STATION  WORK,  LVIII.  25 

of  these  pens,  which  began  to  molt  after  October  1  averaged  eighty-two  days 
molting.  In  every  case  where  the  molt  appeared  to  be  uninfluenced  by  the  feed¬ 
ing  the  late  molting  hens  took  less  time  to  produce  a  new  coat  of  feathers  than 
did  those  which  molted  earlier. 

Hens  that  molt  early  lay  more  early  winter  eggs. — The  hens  molting  before 
September  15  began  to  lay  thirty-nine  days  after  the  completion  of  the  indi¬ 
vidual  molt;  those  molting  after  September  15  began  to  lay  in  forty-three  days 
after  they  were  completely  refeathered.  The  hens  which  molted  before  Sep¬ 
tember  15  averaged  17  eggs  each  from  the  completion  of  their  individual  molt 
to  April  2,  1907,  while  those  molting  later  gave  14  eggs  each  in  the  same  period. 

Hens  that  molt  late  lay  more  eggs  during  the  year. — Although  the  early  molt¬ 
ing  hens  laid  more  winter  eggs,  they  did  not  lay  more  eggs  during  the  year. 
Those  beginning  to  molt  before  September  15  averaged  103  eggs,  and  those 
molting  later  averaged  126  eggs.  The  8  hens  which,  in  1906,  began  to  molt 
after  October  1,  laid  in  that  year  142  eggs  each.  Two  of  the  8  hens  died  in 
1907,  but  the  other  6  gave  129  eggs  each  in  1907,  their  third  year  of  laying. 
The  best  hen,  No.  61,  laid  213  eggs  in  1906  and  175  eggs  in  1907,  and  was  the 
last  one  to  molt  in  1906  and  1907.  Thus,  the  later  molting  hens  consumed  less 
time  in  molting,  and  laid  more  eggs  during  the  year ;  the  early  molting  hens 
began  to  lay  more  quickly  after  molting,  and  gave  slightly  greater  winter  pro¬ 
duction. 

The  early  molting  hens  averaged  3  eggs  more  in  winter  when  eggs  were  high 
than  did  the  late  molting  hens.  For  100  hens  this  would  mean  300  eggs,  or  25 
dozen.  With  eggs  at  35.5  cents  per  dozen  (average  for  that  period  in  1907)  this 
would  make  an  additional  profit  of  $8.87  in  favor  of  early  molting,  if  the 
additional  amount  of  food  consumed  on  account  of  the  increased  production  is 
not  considered. 

The  late  molting  hens  gave  23  more  eggs  each  during  the  year  than  the  early 
molting  hens.  For  100  hens  this  would  be  2,300  eggs,  or  191.6  dozens.  At  29.3 
cents  per  dozen  (average  price  from  August,  1906,  to  August,  1907)  this  would 
amount  to  $56.13  extra  profit  for  the  late  molting  hens,  if  extra  amount  of  food 
consumed  is  not  considered.  The  comparative  profit  of  the  late  molting  hens 
over  the  early  molting  hens,  without  considering  extra  food  consumed,  would 
be  $56.13  as  against  $8.87=$47.26.  If  one  should  judge  from  this  record,  he 
might  conclude  that  the  best  laying  hens  are  often  latest  to  molt ;  therefore,  if 
condition  of  feeding,  age  of  stock,  and  environment  are  similar,  the  one  who  kills 
the  late  molting  hens  may  be  killing  the  best  producers. 

Feather-making  demands  nitrogenous  food. — It  is  generally  conceded  that  the 
molting  period  is  the  most  trying  time  of  a  fowl’s  life.  In  nature  the  shedding 
of  the  feathers  and  the  growing  of  a  new  plumage  apparently  occurs  in  a  period 
of  rest  following  one  of  production.  This  period  of  molting  normally  comes 
with  regularity  at  a  certain  season  of  the  year,  and  presumably  is  primarily  a 
matter  of  inheritance,  and  only  secondarily  due  to  environment.  Environment 
may,  however,  modify — i.  e.,  hasten  or  retard — the  natural  process.  Whatever 
the  condition  influencing  the  molt  may  be,  it  appears  that  the  demands  of  the 
body  for  nourishment  from  which  to  grow  new  plumage  are  great. 

In  the  absence  of  reliable  data  as  to  the  best  method  of  feeding  fowls  during 
the  critical  period  of  the  molt,  it  would  seem  desirable  to  follow  the  practice 
commonly  believed  to  be  correct,  namely,  to  feed  liberally  on  rations  which  are 
easy  of  digestion  and  rich  in  protein  and  oil.  Therefore,  in  addition  to  the  regu¬ 
lar  rations,  such  foods  as  meat,  oil  meal,  and  sunflower  seed,  should  be  added,  or, 
if  already  being  fed,  should  be  increased  in  amount.  This  modified  ration  is 
given  in  order  to  meet  the  increased  demands  of  the  body  for  feather-making  ma- 
412 


26 


EXPERIMENT  STATION  WORK,  LVIII. 


terial  at  a  time  when  the  system  presumably  would  be  in  need  of  protein  to  fur¬ 
nish  nitrogen  for  the  growth  of  feathers  and  oil  to  supply  available  heat  for  the 
scantily  protected  body.  What  is  the  normal  molt?  From  the  facts  now  at 
hand  regarding  the  molting  of  fowls,  it  seems  that  the  best  molt,  considering 
the  question  of  the  vitality  of  the  stock,  is  one  when  the  fowl  sheds  the  old 
feathers  and  replaces  them  in  a  regular  sequence  with  the  new,  without  leaving 
the  individual  at  any  time  in  an  exposed  and  defenseless  condition,  and  there¬ 
fore  in  danger  either  from  inclement  weather  or  inability  to  escape  from  its 
natural  enemies. 

When  fowls  molt  naturally  and  well,  one  should  scarcely  be  able  to  notice 
that  the  flock  is  molting,  except  that  the  shed  feathers  are  found  in  large  quan¬ 
tities  about  the  place.  These  hens,  however,  may  not  be  the  most  highly  de¬ 
veloped  producers.  Just  how  far  man  may  safely  go  in  his  development  of  the 
productive  powers  of  the  hen,  without  endangering  her  life  or  the  vitality  of 
her  offspring  by  artificial  conditions,  remains  to  be  proved.  It  would  appear 
that  one  of  the  first  natural  results,  as  a  consequence  of  an  increased  egg  yield, 
is  a  postponement  of  the  time  of  the  molt. 

General  results  and  conclusions. — As  compared  with  the  fed  flocks  the  starved 
hens  molted  slightly  earlier  and  more  uniformly ;  were  in  somewhat  better  con¬ 
dition  at  the  end  of  the  molt ;  molted  (average)  in  slightly  less  time;  gained  less 
above  first  weight  during  molt;  gained  slightly  more  in  weight  during  the  year; 
resumed  production  somewhat  more  quickly  after  molt ;  laid  a  few  more  eggs 
during  winter ;  were  materially  retarded  in  egg  production ;  produced  less  eggs 
after  the  molt  was  completed ;  produced  eggs  at  a  greater  cost  per  dozen ;  con¬ 
sumed  slightly  less  food  during  the  year ;  had  slightly  less  mortality ;  showed 
slightly  more  broodiness;  and  paid  a  much  smaller  profit. 

The  general  conclusions  were  that  with  the  methods  employed  with  White 
Leghorn  fowls  1,  2,  or  3  years  old,  it  does  not  pay  to  “  force  a  molt  ”  by  starva¬ 
tion  method,  and  that  apparently  it  is  good  policy  to  encourage  hens,  by  good 
care  and  feeding,  to  lay  during  late  summer  and  fall,  rather  than  to  resort  to 
unusual  means  to  stop  laying  in  order  to  induce  an  early  molt,  with  the  hope 
of  increasing  productiveness  during  early  winter,  a  season  which  is  naturally 
unfavorable  for  egg  production.  In  short,  it  appears  wise  when  hens  want  to 
lay  to  let  them  lay. 


A  PORTABLE  PANEL  FENCE.0 

In  caring  for  calves,  sheep,  and  swine  on  the  farm  it  is  convenient 
to  have  some  sort  of  fence  that  can  be  easily  moved.  The  construc¬ 
tion  of  such  a  fence  is  described  by  William  Dietrich,  of  the  Illinois 
station,  as  follows: 

Construct  a  table  4  feet  wide  and  17  feet  long.  (With  a  little  more  care  and 
inconvenience  a  barn  floor  may  be  substituted  for  the  table. )  At  one  end  of  the 
table  and  at  right  angles  with  the  same,  nail  a  piece  of  straight  board,  c,  Figure 
A  in  the  above  cut  (fig.  5) .  At  the  front  side  of  the  table,  or  the  side  of  the  work¬ 
man,  nail  two  blocks  d,  made  of  2-inch  lumber,  so  that  they  are  at  right  angles 
with  c,  to  form  supports  for  the  lower  board  of  the  panel  and  the  lower  ends 
of  the  two  end  crossbars.  Then  take  2-inch  blocks,  /,  e,  g,  that  are  about  2 
inches  wide  and  nail  them  on  the  table,  so  that  their  outside  ends  are  11  inches 
from  the  proposed  ends  of  the  panel,  and  arrange  them  so  that  it  is  9  inches 
from  the  upper  side  of  d  to  the  upper  side  of  /,  11  inches  from  the  upper  side 

a  Compiled  from  Illinois  Sta.  Circ.  132  and  Wisconsin  Sta.  Bui.  184. 

412 


EXPERIMENT  STATION  WORK,  LVIII.  27 

of  f  to  the  upper  side  of  e,  and  14  inches  from  the  upper  side  of  e  to  the  upper 
side  of  g.  Next  place  6-inch  boards  16  feet  long  (the  length  of  the  panel)  so 
that  they  lie  firmly  against  the  upper  side  of  blocks  /,  e,  g,  and  butt  against 
c.  This  may  easily  be  accomplished  by  raising  the  farther  side  of  the  table  so 
that  the  boards  will  keep  their  position  against  the  blocks.  Also  incline  the 
table  toward  c.  The  crossbars,  which  have  been  sawed  40  inches  long,  are  now 
nailed  one  across  each  end  and  one  in  the  middle,  as  shown  in  the  cut  above. 
These  are  to  be  6  inches  wide  and  only  on  one  side  of  the  panel,  and  nailed 
with  8d.  wire  nails,  which  should  be  clinched.  The  two  end  crossbars  can  rest 
against  the  ends  of  blocks  /,  e,  and  g  with  their  sides  and  against  d  with  the 
ends.  Saw  out  1  inch  deep  from  the  upper  edge  of  each  end  of  the  lower  board 
outside  of  the  crossbar.  This  will  make  a  fence  that  is  40  inches  high  when 
the  lower  boards  rest  on  the  ground.  By  following  the  method  outlined  above 
the  panels  will  all  be  of  the  same  dimension  and  will  thus  fit  the  triangles 
without  difficulty. 


To  construct  the  triangle  represented  in  B  and  B'  and  used  to  support  the 
panel,  saw  three  pieces  of  board  6  inches  wide  and  4  feet  long.  Nail  a  1-incli 
board  at  the  front  side  of  the  table  for  a  straight  edge  and  use  this  as  a  base 
line.  Take  a  point  l  on  the  base  line  and  point  o  so  that  it  is  27^  inches  above  l 
and  at  right  angles  to  the  base  line  at  l.  Now  take  two  of  the  boards  4  feet 
long  and  lay  the  lower  and  inside  corners  21  inches  from  l  on  the  base  line 
and  allow  the  inside  of  the  two  boards  to  cross  at  point  o.  Nail  the  boards 
lightly  in  this  position  and  lay  out  r  and  s  which  are  notches  sawed  out  for  the 
ends  of  the  boards  of  the  panel  to  fit  into.  These  notches  are  inches  wide 
and  the  upper  end  of  r  is  28^  inches  from  the  base  line.  The  lower  end  of 
notch  s  is  71  inches  above  r.  Now  draw  out  the  nails,  saw  out  r  and  s  and  use 
the  two  pieces  i  and  j  for  patterns.  For  h  take  a  6-inch  board  4  feet  long  and 
at  the  middle  of  each  side  saw  out  a  notch  1  inch  deep  and  21  inches  wide. 

After  having  sawed  out  a  sufficient  number  of  pieces  according  to  Figure  B, 
then  proceed  to  put  them  together  as  in  Figure  B\  Saw  out  a  piece,  x,  171 
inches  long.  2  inches  thick,  and  2\  inches  wide.  Nail  this  on  the  table  so  that 
its  median  line  is  perpendicular  to  the  base  line  at  l  and  so  that  the  upper  end 
412 


28 


EXPERIMENT  STATION  WORK,  LVIII. 


is  2S-J  inches  from  the  base  line.  Now  prepare  two  blocks  y  and  z  of  1-inch 
lumber  and  nail  them  to  the  table  so  that  the  outside  lower  points,  as  in  Figure 
B',  are  each  21  inches  from  the  point  l.  Place  i,  j,  and  h  in  the  position  as  in 
Figure  B'  so  that  the  inside  notches  of  i  and  j  will  rest  firmly  against  the  upper 
end  of  x  and  that  the  notch  on  the  upper  side  of  h  will  rest  firmly  against  the 
lower  end  of  x  and  that  h  is  parallel  to  the  base  line.  Nail  firmly  and  saw 
the  corners  of  h  so  that  it  is  flush  with  i  and  j.  The  upper  ends  of  y  and  z 
have  nothing  to  do  with  determining  the  lower  line  of  h.  Use  8d.  wire  nails 
and  clinch. 

Both  the  triangles  and  panels  should  be  made  of  common  rough  fencing  and 
the  number  of  triangles  should  equal  the  number  of  panels  plus  one.  In  plac¬ 
ing  the  panels  and  triangles  to  make  a  fence,  reverse  every  alternate  panel  so 
that  the  crossbars  are  on  opposite  sides  and  set  a  triangle  at  every  juncture  of 
the  panels  and  at  the  ends  of  the  fence. 


'  N 

-r 

% 

J, 

is 

j 

<4 

_ 

;  T' 

sis 

zZ 

:T 

* 

^  - 

•tv. 

T 


M 

i 


la. 


Fig.  6. — Hinged  panel  of  portable  fence. 


Figure  6  shows  a  hinged  hurdle  in  use  at  the  Wisconsin  Station; 
it  is  easily  carried  and  is  useful  for  catching  and  sorting  pigs.  A 
portable  fence  used  at  the  Wisconsin  Station  has  been  referred  to  in 
an  earlier  bulletin  of  this  series.® 

PASTEURIZATION  IN  BUTTER  MAKING.* 6 

According  to  C.  E.  Lee,  of  the  Illinois  Experiment  Station,  the 
change  from  the  whole  milk  to  the  cream  gathering  system  in  butter 
making  has  resulted  in  a  decline  in  the  quality  of  butter.  Pasteuri¬ 
zation  of  farm-skimmed  cream  has  been  advocated  as  a  means  of 
improving  the  quality  of  butter  manufactured  in  creameries  from 
farm-skimmed  cream,  but  the  studies  which  have  been  carried  on 
for  several  years  by  the  Illinois  Station  have  indicated  that  pasteuri¬ 
zation  does  not  affect  the  body  or  texture  of  butter,  nor  does  it  im¬ 
prove  the  quality  of  butter  made  from  sour  farm-skimmed  cream. 
The  curdling  of  cream  by  pasteurization  increases  the  loss  of  fat  in 
the  buttermilk.  It  is  further  shown  that  pasteurization  of  sour 
cream  produces  a  buttermilk  of  watery  appearance. 

°u.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Farmers’  Bui.  78,  p.  12. 

6  Compiled  from  Illinois  Sta.  Bui.  13S. 

412 


EXPERIMENT  STATION  WORK,  LVIII.  29 

MILLING  AND  BAKING  TESTS  WITH  DURUM  WHEAT.0 

Durum  wheats  have  assumed  an  important  place  in  American 
agriculture  in  recent  years  and  have  been  studied  by  a  number  of 
the  agricultural  experiment  stations  in  the  United  States  and  Canada 
and  by  the  Bureau  of  Plant  Industry  of  the  Department  of  Agri¬ 
culture.  Such  work  has  been  referred  to  in  earlier  bulletins  of  this 
series.^ 

Durum  wheats  have  been  included  in  variety  tests  at  the  Dickin¬ 
son  Substation  of  the  North  Dakota  Agricultural  Experiment  Sta¬ 
tion,  at  the  Nebraska  Experiment  Station,  the  Canada  Experimental 
Farms,  and  the  Ontario  Agricultural  College  and  Experimental 
Farm.  In  discussion  of  dry-land  grains,  W.  M.  Jardine,  of  the 
Bureau  of  Plant  Industry  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  con¬ 
siders  the  different  wheat  groups  with  reference  to  this  type  of  farm¬ 
ing.  His  conclusion  is  that  durum  wheats  have  proved  themselves 
drought  resistant  and  rust  resistant,  and  he  believes  that  they  will 
ultimately  become  the  leading  spring  type  in  dry-land  agriculture. 
It  is  stated  further  that  the  durum  wheat  crop  in  the  United  States 
in  1907  exceeded  50  million  bushels. 

Considering  its  great  possibilities  as  a  standard  crop,  it  is  natural 
that  the  milling  and  baking  qualities  of  durum  wheat  should  have 
been  carefully  studied.  At  the  Canada  Central  Experimental  Farm 
two  durum  wheats  were  included  in  a  study  of  wheat  quality.  In 
his  report  of  this  work  C.  E.  Saunders  states: 

While  the  ordinary  Goose  (or  Wild  Goose)  can  not  he  recommended  for  bread 
baking,  the  Kubanka  [a  well-known  durum  wheat]  produced  admirable  bread, 
which,  however,  differs  in  some  ways  from  that  produced  from  most  of  the 
other  wheats.  The  Kubanka  dough  must  be  made  rather  stiff  in  order  that  it 
may  not  be  too  sticky  to  handle  conveniently.  It  rises  very  well,  producing  a 
large  loaf  of  very  fine  texture  and  of  good  form.  The  crust  is  somewhat  unusual, 
being  of  a  rich  brown  color  and  having  a  tendency  to  be  thin  and  tough.  The 
inside  color  of  the  bread  is  quite  yellow,  but  this  gives  an  appearance  of  rich¬ 
ness  and  can  only  be  objected  to  on  the  grounds  of  prejudice.  Taking  all  its 
characteristics  into  consideration,  *  *  *  the  bread  produced  from  this 

sample  of  wheat  was  of  excellent  quality. 

The  quality  of  all  the  flours  included  in  this  investigation  was 
studied  when  used  for  making  baking  powder  biscuits  in  addition  to 
yeast-raised  bread,  and  all,  including  the  durum  flours,  produced  bis- 

°  Compiled  from  North  Dakota  Sta.  Bui.  82 ;  Special  Bui.  19 ;  Rpt.  Dickinson 
Substa.  (1908),  pp.  4,  9,  24,  and  27;  Utah  Sta.  Bui.  10ST;  Nebraska  Sta.  Bui. 
109;  Annual  Rpt.  of  Maryland  Agr.  College,  84  (1908),  pp.  172,  184;  Canada 
Experimental  Farms  Rpt.,  1907,  p.  219,  and  1908;  Canada  Central  Experimental 
Farms  Bui.  57 ;  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Bur.  Plant  Indus.  Circ.  12. 

b  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.,  Farmers’  Buis.  186,  p.  6 ;  251,  p.  14. 

412 


30 


EXPERIMENT  STATION  WORK,  LVIII. 


cuits  of  about  the  same  volume.  They  varied  somewhat  in  character 
and  considerably  in  color,  but  the  differences  between  the  different 
kinds  of  flour  were  not  so  striking  as  in  the  case  of  bread,  and  it  is 
interesting  to  note  that  the  author  therefore  concludes :  “  The  making 
of  ordinary  tea  biscuits  can  not  be  considered  a  test  of  the  ability  of 
gluten  to  withstand  fermentation  or  of  its  power  to  retain  a  large 
quantity  of  gas  produced  inside  the  dough.” 

R.  Stewart  and  J.  E.  Greaves,  at  the  Utah  Experiment  Station, 
studied  the  milling  qualities  of  common  bread  varieties  and  durum 
wheats  grown  locally,  including  21  samples  grown  under  irrigated 
conditions  and  TO  samples  grown  under  arid  conditions. 

The  average  weight  of  100  kernels  of  the  common  bread  variety 
tested  was  3.0417  grams  and  of  100  kernels  of  durum  wheat  3.7258 
grams.  The  wdieats  were  ground  in  an  experimental  mill,  the  bread 
variety  yielding  on  an  average  53.21  per  cent  flour,  35.11  per  cent 
bran,  and  10.91  per  cent  shorts,  and  the  durum  varieties  50.23  per 
cent  flour,  31.97  per  cent  bran,  and  17.27  per  cent  shorts. 

The  durum  wheats  on  an  average  contained  8.89  per  cent  water 
and  the  bread  varieties  8.46  per  cent.  The  average  protein  contents 
were,  respectively,  18.82  per  cent  and  18.44  per  cent,  using  the  factor 
6.25,  or  17.14  per  cent  and  16.76  per  cent,  respectively,  if  the  factor 
5.7  is  used.  The  water  and  protein  content  of  the  flour,  bran,  and 
shorts  of  the  different  kinds  of  wheat  are  reported.  The  proportion 
of  wet  gluten,  dry  gluten,  the  ratio  of  wet  to  dry  gluten,  the  gliadin 
content,  the  glutenin  content,  the  proportion  of  protein  in  the  form 
of  gliadin,  the  acidity,  and  the  ash  content  of  the  different  samples 
of  flour  were  also  studied. 

According  to  the  authors’  summary,  the  Utah  wheats  are  character¬ 
ized  by  a  low  water  content  and  a  protein  content  much  above  the 
average.  The  percentage  of  protein  in  wheat  grown  on  irrigated 
lands  was  lower  than  that  of  wheat  grown  on  arid  farms. 

The  protein  content  of  the  common  bread  varieties  is  nearly  equal  to  that  of 
the  durum  varieties,  the  difference  being  only  0.5  per  cent.  The  durum  wheats 
are  heavier,  kernel  for  kernel,  than  the  bread  varieties. 

There  are  noticeable  variations  in  the  yield,  milling,  and  chemical  character¬ 
istics  of  the  same  varieties  of  wheat  grown  on  the  various  arid  farms  of  the 
State.  The  moist  and  dry  gluten  content  of  Utah  wheats  is  very  high.  The  bran 
and  shorts  produced  from  the  common  bread  varieties  of  wheat  are  fully  as 
nutritious  as  the  bran  and  shorts  produced  from  the  hard  varieties  of  wheat. 

If  the  gluten  content  determines  the  value  of  durum  wheats  for  the  making 
of  macaroni,  the  common  bread  varieties  grown  in  Utah  should  be  just  as 
valuable  for  this  purpose. 

The  gliadin  content  of  durum  wheat  is  slightly  higher  than  that  of  the  soft 
varieties. 

No  single  variety  now  possesses,  combined,  the  desired  characteristics  of 
yield,  protein  content,  flour  yield,  weight  per  bushel,  and  the  most  desirable 


412 


EXPERIMENT  STATION  WORK,  LVIII. 


31 


milling  qualities.  However,  sufficient  evidence  is  presented  to  indicate  those 
varieties  which  it  will  be  most  profitable  to  use  for  selection  in  order  to  obtain 
the  desired  results. 

The  work  at  the  North  Dakota  Station  and  at  the  Dickinson  Sub¬ 
station,  reported  by  E.  F.  Ladd  and  L.  R.  Waldron,  and  in  part 
summarized  by  Professor  Ladd  and  Emily  E.  May,  is  extensive  and 
has  yielded  interesting  results  in  respect  to  yield  and  baking  quality 
of  durum  wheats  in  comparison  with  other  varieties.  When  15  sam¬ 
ples  of  Fife  and  Bluestem  wheats  were  compared  in  milling  tests 
with  an  equal  number  of  samples  of  durum  wheats,  all  the  varieties 
being  locally  grown — 

the  durum  gave  a  rather  larger  percentage  of  flour  than  did  the  Fife  and 
Bluestem,  and  the  average  weight  per  bushel  for  clean  wheat  was  greater,  yet 
the  amount  of  high-grade  flours  was  in  favor  of  the  Fife  and  Bluestem.  *  *  * 

It  takes  slightly  less  durum  to  produce  a  barrel  of  flour  than  of  Fife  and 
Bluestem.  The  percentage  of  bran  is  less  in  the  durum  than  in  Fife  and 
Bluestem.  but  the  proportion  of  shorts  is  higher. 

In  another  comparison  it  is  found  that  the  yield  of  patent  flour  of 
good  quality  from  durum  wheat  was  74.4  per  cent,  the  first  clear  flour 
22.7  per  cent,  and  the  second  clear  2.9  per  cent.  The  total  yield  of  the 
flour  was  70.7  per  cent  of  the  wheat  milled,  or  somewhat  less  than  in 
the  test  just  referred  to,  but  about  the  same  as  the  yield  obtained  with 
Fife  and  Bluestem  wheats.  “  It  required  4  bushels  and  38  pounds  to 
produce  a  barrel  of  flour.* ' 

According  to  Professor  Ladd  the  gluten  tests  with  the  different 
sorts  of  wheat  show  that — 

the  differences  in  expansive  properties  are  particularly  marked  between  the 
several  grades  of  flour.  The  introduction  of  the  first  clear  into  the  patent,  or 
the  lengthening  out  of  the  patent,  as  is  often  done,  must  necessarily  result  in 
decreasing  the  expansive  properties.  When  the  patent  and  first  clear  are 
united  and  sold  as  straight,  or,  as  is  more  often  done,  bleached  and  sold  as 
patent,  or,  at  least,  in  place  of  patent,  we  can  not  wonder  at  the  lowering  of 
strength  now  generally  recognized  in  many  brands  of  flours. 

The  expansive  properties  of  the  durum  gluten  are  not  equal  to  that  from  the 
Fife,  as  indicated  in  these.. tests,  and  this  is  further  borne  out  in  the  baking 
tests  with  the  two  flours.  The  physical  properties  of  the  gluten  from  a  patent 
or  first  clear  also  differ  in  many  other  respects  not  clearly  indicated  by  the 
above  tests,  but  soon  recognized  by  one  who  is  engaged  in  washing  out  glutens. 

Professor  Ladd  points  out  that  the  analyses  of  the  flour  samples 
ground  from  the  durum  wheats  in  general  have  shown  higher  per¬ 
centages  of  total  protein  than  found  in  Fife  and,  Bluestem  wheats. 
The  analyses  of  the  flours  do  not  average  as  high  for  the  same  grade 
of  durum  as  for  other  wheats.  On  the  other  hand,  analyses  of  pre¬ 
vious  years  have  shown  the  reverse  order,  but  more  markedly  is  this 
noticeable  by  comparing  the  analyses  above  given  with  the  average 
for  commercial  flours  in  North  Dakota  markets. 


412 


32 


EXPERIMENT  STATION  WORK,  LVin. 


From  baking  tests  which  were  made  with  flours  ground  at  the 
North  Dakota  Experiment  Station  and  from  commercial  samples,  it 
appeared,  according  to  Professor  Ladd,  that — 

the  volume  of  the  loaf  for  the  commercial  flours  averaged  quite  a  considerable 
above  that  of  the  test  flours  produced  at  the  college.  It  should  be  said  also 
that  when  several  of  the  mill  floors  were  blended  better  results  were  secured  in 
bread  production  than  where  the  individual  samples  were  tested  alone. 

As  regards  the  gluten  tests  made  with  the  commercial  flours,  the  results  show 
less  of  wet  and  of  baked  gluten  for  the  commercial  flour  than  either  of  the 
others,  and  in  expansion  the  gluten  for  the  commercial  flours  is  less  than  that 
produced  from  Dakota  Fife  and  Bluestem  wheats  as  a  patent,  but  superior  to 
that  produced  from  the  durum. 

In  connection  with  the  work  at  the  North  Dakota  Station,  samples 
of  durum  flour  were  submitted  to  a  large  number  of  housewives  for 
testing  for  making  bread  and  other  flour  products.  The  replies  re¬ 
ceived,  together  with  general  conclusions,  are  summarized  by  Pro¬ 
fessor  Ladd  and  Miss  Mav  as  follows: 

«/ 

It  is  claimed  by  the  farmers  that  durum  wheat  in  the  western  part  of  the 
State  yields  much  better  than  our  hard  wheats  for  the  same  section  of  the 
State. 

Farmers  hold  that  durum  is  much  more  disease  resistant  than  other  wheats 
generally  grown  in  the  State. 

That  durum  wheat  produces  as  much  straight  flour  as  either  Fife  or  Blue- 
stem  in  the  experiments  at  the  experiment  station. 

The  number  of  bushels  required  to  produce  a  barrel  of  flour  is  no  greater 
than  the  average  for  other  wheats. 

It  is  claimed  that  it  takes  more  power  to  grind  durum  than  for  Fife  or 
Bluestem. 

It  has  been  shown  that  processes  of  tempering  durum  may  have  a  marked 
effect  on  the  flour-producing  quality  of  the  wheat. 

Bread  from  durum  flour  is  equal  to  that  produced  from  the  other  flours  as 
found  on  the  market. 

The  bread  is  not  so  white  as  that  from  the  average  Fife  or  Bluestem  flour, 
having  more  of  a  creamy  appearance. 

The  consensus  of  opinion  is  that  the  flavor  of  the  bread  is  equal,  if  not 
superior,  to  that  produced  from  the  best  commercial  flours,  being  slightly 
sweeter  and  having  a  more  nutty  flavor. 

The  bread  from  durum  flour  holds  the  moisture  better  than  that  produced 
from  commercial  flours. 

The  general  consensus  of  opinion  of  those  who  have  tested  the  flour  in  bread 
making  is  that  the  bread  is  equal  to  that  from  other  flours. 

412 


o 


